12 Days of Outlaw Queen Christmas
by mysterious-song
Summary: In the festive spirit of Christmas, behold; 12 little ficlets depicting domestic, fluffy adventures of the Outlaw Queen family.
1. 12 Mistletoe Kisses

**Ok, so, a while ago I started putting together a Christmas Project for OQ, and came up with a 12 Days themed one.**

 **So, I'll be trying my very very best to update one daily between now and Christmas Day.**

 **I hope y'all enjoy these festive little oneshots (and please send reviews my way because this is the first thing I've posted in a while and I'm really really nervous about it :S eek)**

 **Love all you wonderful people,**

 **You guys ROCK!**

…

The first thing that pulls Regina from sleep is not the usual delicate chimes of her alarm; instead, it's the moment she turns to burrow into the warmth of Robin but is only greeted with an unpleasant coolness on his side of the bed. With a huff Regina forces her eyes open, takes in the light illuminating her cream curtains and feels a little wary at the quiet stillness of her house.

A glance at her alarm clock shows it to be 07:17 - 13 minutes before the occupants of her house start to get ready for the school run - and yes, Robin's usually awake before her, but he cannot get ready in the morning without making enough noise to wake a heard of elephants. So how he has been awake for a while and she hasn't confuses her.

Then a faint knocking on her front door startles her and she's even more confused; _who could be visiting at this hour?_

Frowning as she dons her dressing gown and slides her feet into slippers, Regina makes her way downstairs, rubbing her arms in an effort to make the contrast between warm bed and cold house a little less shocking. Her efforts are useless; the moment she opens the front door, a gust of icy wind leaves her breathless and wanting to slam the winter cold out.

But then she gets a look at the adorable idiot on her doorstep and she opens the door wider with a smirk.

Robin is standing there, his eyes scrunched closed, his lips in a pout, and his arm outstretched above his head with mistletoe in his hand.

Regina can't help but laugh, smiling even though goosebumps are appearing on every inch of her skin.

 _This man..._

Grabbing the front of his thick jacket, Regina pulls him over the threshold, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips through her smile. She's barely pulled away to laugh at him some more when his arm lowers to wrap around her waist and pulls her back to him.

His nose is cold as it smushes into her cheek, and his fingertips are even colder as they press through the satin of her robe, but she feels heat rush through her at the little moan he makes when her tongue swipes at his lip, and the fact that she's close to shivering all but slips her mind.

"Um... Could you guys get a room?"

They break apart to see Henry leaning over the stair banister - _presumably his charming genes activating his nosiness_ , Regina muses - wiping his sleepy eyes but still managing the _god, you're embarrassing_ grimace all teenagers possess.

"Fine," Regina sighs. "Go and get dressed and I'll start making breakfast."

Henry turns and races back to his room, and Regina watches him go with a fond smile. He'd almost eaten her out of house and home last week, and it appears this week won't be any different. She counts the footsteps before she hears the door close, feeling wistfully nostalgic when his longer legs means the number has slowly dwindled over the years.

Kicking herself out of her motherly woes, she turns back to Robin, pulling him inside and closing the door because it's bloody _freezing_ outside and all the heat is escaping. It's then she notes that his other hand has a wicker basket in it, full to the brim of mistletoe.

"And just where are you planning on putting all that?"

"It's a surprise," he evades, chuckling when Regina narrows her eyes at him.

"I don't like surprises."

"Not even surprise kisses? I highly doubt that, milady."

With a roll of her eyes, Regina smiles, concedes that _yes, ok, perhaps she does love surprise kisses,_ and leans forward to help herself to another one.

She doesn't manage to get one before the shrill sound of a baby crying echoes throughout the house. With a frustrated sigh, Regina drops her head to Robin's shoulder.

"I'll see to her," Robin offers, stroking a hand up and down her spine. "You go get dressed and start on breakfast."

"You're not getting any unless you leave your dirty boots at the door," she warns, before straightening, turning and making her way upstairs, leaving him to frown as he sits on the bottom step and gets to work untying his laces.

...

By the time she gets to her room, the urge to just climb back into bed and warm up has Regina pouting as she straightens the duvet. And the thought of removing her nice, warm clothes to put on fresh, cold ones has her pouting even more.

But she manages it; she's dressed in record time, bravely shucking her gown and chemise and quickly pulling on underwear and trousers and her blouse and a jacket, feeling a little less grumpy with each extra layer. Plus; it's a little warmer in her en suite, and she leans against the radiator as she brushes her teeth, warming the backs of her legs with a blissful smile on her face.

Of course, she has to leave the warmth to travel to the sink when she's done – which is rather unpleasant – to rinse her mouth out then have a glass of water.

When she stands back up straight and looks in the mirror, there's a figure directly behind her, and one-too-many horror movies have her jumping out of her skin and turning towards the intruder.

It's only Robin – _of course it is; who else would it be?_ – but Regina's racing heart has her delivering a rather hefty punch to her soulmate's arm, scolding him for sneaking up on her.

Seemingly unaffected by her ire, Robin lifts up mistletoe between them with a grin, silently asking if he can place one in their bathroom. But Regina glares and turns away, folding her arms in a show of petulant anger at him for nearly giving her a coronary.

Lowering the mistletoe, Robin's grin fades.

"I'm sorry," he apologises - though it's effects are somewhat lessened when she still sees a smirk pull at his lips.

With a huff, she meets his eyes in their reflection and pouts some more.

Robin smiles, raises a hand to brush her hair behind her shoulder and then dips his head to press a kiss to behind her jaw.

"Forgive me?" he mumbles into her skin, before pressing a kiss slightly lower, then another.

Letting out a short groan, Regina concedes and lets her head fall back so her lover has more skin he can kiss an apology into.

She'll let him pin the mistletoe up later.

...

The kids are driven to school - it's far too cold to let them walk, and Roland is still slightly wary of the completely different educational system in Storybrooke - Robin is staying at home with his daughter, and so that leaves Regina at work, in the peace and quiet of her office.

At least, peace and quiet is what she was hoping for. What she actually gets? The exact opposite.

Ice means road traffic accidents, which means directing resources into investigating, which means complaints from residents about journey delays. There's also a protest being organised regarding resurfacing roads - locals fussing about the noise and diversions, and others giving the names of roads that apparently need it more - and the duty of appeasing the pathetic whiners has been passed up to the Mayor when all else has failed.

Oh, and her assistant has caught the flu, and so she's technically doing the work of two jobs by herself on what is already a busy day.

 _And it isn't even lunch yet_ …

Feeling the onset of a headache, her office door opening signifies the last thing Regina needs; visitors.

"Madame Mayor?" she hears, and despite everything she smiles; she knows that accent anywhere.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Regina asks as she looks up, meeting the gaze of her soulmate with his adorable little girl in his arms.

He skips pleasantries, frowning at the way she had been massaging her temples and straight-out asking; "rough day?"

Blowing out a puff of air, Regina tries to come up with ways to put her already hectic day into words, but she doesn't need to; Robin holds up a hand and declares; "Say no more."

Regina lips curve into a smile. He knows her so well.

"Is there anything you need?" she asks, before teasing; "or is the little one getting a little too much for you?"

Robin chuckles, looking down and stage whispering to his daughter: "she thinks she's funny, you know."

Regina narrows her eyes and mock glares at him, which in turn just turns his chuckle into laughter.

"Look in your top left drawer," he declares, and Regina's glare turns sceptical.

Robin refuses to back down though; meeting her gaze head-on until curiosity gets the better of her and she breaks eye contact to look into the drawer she has warily opened.

She immediately sees the mistletoe, her first thought being _of course, what else?_ and her second being _how the hell did he put that in there?_

But then she sees the box of chocolates underneath green leaves and white berries, and her love for her soulmate suddenly knows no bounds.

"You bought me chocolates?"

"Indeed. I did."

With a grin, she takes the black box and places it on her desk, moving the mistletoe to the side before she pulls on the end of the gold bow wrapped around it, lifting the lid and perusing the _gorgeous_ treats displayed inside.

The mistletoe disappears from her field of vision, and she looks up to see Robin holding it above her and raising his eyebrows.

She'd kiss him even without the mistletoe.

Regina tilts her chin up to him, and Robin leans down to her, keeping a tight hold on his daughter as he kisses his soulmate, a deep and loving embrace that leaves Regina a little breathless when they part.

Her eyes only manage to open when she hears footsteps leading away from her, and she sees Robin exiting her office, closing the door behind him. She bites her lower lip to try and stop the smirk spreading - and fails miserably - but when she goes to pick out her first chocolate, she finds there's already one missing.

She glares at the empty space, then turns her glare to the door when she realises what has happened.

"Thief!" she calls out, knowing Robin had probably left quick enough that he wouldn't hear any profanities when she realised he has stolen one of her sweets.

 _Once a thief, always a thief,_ she muses, grumbling as she takes the chocolate resembling the picture of the salted caramel truffle and placing it in her mouth.

Her grumpiness fades as the flavour draws out a moan from the base of her throat.

Okay, she'll forgive her thief, just this once.

...

The rest of Regina's day goes by a bit better, and any time she's feeling the urge to roast an unruly resident, she eats a chocolate and her temper fades into something easier to keep a lid on.

She rushes through her paperwork once it's past six in the evening, checking and double checking for mistakes before she officially calls it a day and makes her way to Granny's - Henry had messaged her half an hour previous, stating that there was an impromptu family gathering at the local diner and that they were having food there.

Sure enough, when she arrives, the entire family is there - and then some; Henry, Roland, Robin, his daughter, Snow, Charming, their son, Emma, Guyliner, the seven munchkins...

Roland gets out of his seat and hugs her before she even manages to close the door. Bending down, she hoists him onto her hip, eyes scanning for Robin and smiling when she sees him grinning back at her. Taking the seat next to him and keeping Roland on her lap, Regina steals a fry from Robin's plate and calls it payback for the chocolate he stole.

The Christmas music playing in the background has several people singing along - loudly, and out of tune - and those standing at the bar with a drink in their hand are dancing - terribly - along with Shakin' Stevens. Regina catches a glimpse of Emma and Hook standing towards the back of the room, Emma being one of those who are singing - loudly, and out of tune - and Hook being one of those who are dancing - terribly. She puts it down to the alcohol in their hands and the several empty glasses on the table next to them.

Shaking her head, Regina turns back to her arch-nemesis-turned-friend who had just squished in the booth opposite her and is sliding a glass of mulled wine across the table. Regina takes it gratefully, offering a smile to Snow as the princess leans into her husband who has just come to stand beside her.

Regina starts at the sudden jolly laugh from her left, turning to find Happy kneeling the booth behind her and Robin, holding up a piece of Mistletoe with lipstick prints over his cheeks and forehead.

 _No,_ is the first thing to come to Regina's mind as she turns back to the table. Her ' _Audacious_ ' MAC lipstick will not be wasted on that dwarf's face.

"Oh, come on your majesty," she hears Hook encourage from next to Happy - having apparently stumbled his way across the room - sounding far too smug as he declares; "It's tradition."

She levels a glare at the pirate, but then sees an immediate get-out clause and smiles. "It's tradition to kiss the person closest to you, is it not?"

When both of them nod, she inclines her head towards Robin, who was - probably - closer to her than the other two. But she wasn't going to measure; just in case.

The two drunkards frown and pout, and she grins a saccharine ' _fuck you'_ before turning to kiss her soulmate.

Her eyes close, and her lips press to a scruffy cheek - though she frowns when it feels _too_ scruffy and she hears a shocked guffaw from Snow. When she opens her eyes she's greeted with Hook's bearded, smug face where Robin's should be, and she can already feel the imminent flame heating the palm of her hand.

Unfortunately, she doesn't get to singe his beard off; instead, Robin's fist rises to nudge the drunk pirate's face out of the way - a little less harsh than Regina would like, but still enough to have the bastard rubbing his chin as he kneels straight again.

With a disgusted grimace, Regina makes a show of wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Robin can't help but find humour in the situation and chuckles, oblivious to his soulmate planning infinite possibilities of the pirate's demise.

Hook ignores the evil glare being levelled at him and in his drunken stupor - chooses to fan the flames with a teasing: "always a pleasure, your majesty."

With a roll of her eyes, Regina flicks her wrist, and the pirate's hook suddenly vanishes.

There's an outcry of " _Hey!_ " and several sniggers.

"Give me my hook back!"

"I don't have it," Regina retorts. "Go find it, or get lost. Whichever takes longer."

Robin's hand reaches for hers under the table in an attempt to soothe her rising temper, and Snow has that disapproving glare on her face as she warns; "Regina..."

" _What_?" Regina scoffs, fully intending to let the pirate hunt around the town for hours, but even her eldest son is looking at her with a raised brow. With a dramatic sigh and another roll of her eyes, she admits; "fine, it's at the docks."

"Swan, we're going to the docks!" Hook declares as he gets up from his position kneeled at the booth – drunkenly swaying on his feet as if he was on his boat before he regains his balance.

Emma puts down her drink, an exaggerated frown on her face as she asks; "Why?"

"I'm Hook _without a hook_!" he exclaims, holding up the arm in question in front of his face before huffing and twirling, making his way out of the door, then waiting and holding it open for Emma.

Regina can't help but chuckle - despite the disapproving look she's still getting from Snow.

"That was rather rude, Regina."

"He deserved it," she insists, before officially declaring: "the only guys I am going to kiss under the mistletoe are my boys."

Regina smiled as she took another sip of her wine, glancing around at her 'boys' and making a mental note to attack them with mistletoe and smother them in kisses over the festive period.

...

The walk home from Granny's is relaxing, with Robin pushing his daughter's pram, Regina tucked around his arm and Henry walking alongside them with Roland's hand in his.

Some shops have elaborate lights in the windows, others have turned them off after closing, but as they turn down the street, Regina notes the sparkling decorations on the lampposts.

The first has holly formed from lights and tinsel, the second has bells, the third has a snowflake, the fourth has a shooting star.

Though the lights on the fifth are arranged in the shape of mistletoe, and Regina smirks, waiting for Robin to notice.

It takes until they're almost underneath it before he does - or at least until he acknowledges it.

He comes to a stop, turning to Regina with a smile and guiding her to stand underneath the lights with him.

"I believe this counts, milady?"

Regina grins as Robin steps closer to her, his mouth hovering over her lips.

Noting the adults are no longer beside him, Henry pauses and turns back to see where they went.

He catches Robin dipping Regina underneath the glow of the streetlight, planting a kiss on her surprised smile.

Henry grins at first, adoring the sight of his mother laughing and being happy, but then the kiss continues past what he'd call 'socially acceptable', and his grin turns into a grimace. To his left, Roland seems to be following the same cute-to-gross facial process. Taking pity on the kid, Henry takes Roland's hand, turning them, grabbing the stroller and manoeuvring them down the route towards their home.

"You two can just... catch up..." Henry suggests over his shoulder, catching his mother's arms winding around Robin's neck before he adds; "whenever you're ready."

...

The adults catch up to their kids not too long later, childish giggles escaping them when they're both sent chastising glares by their respective sons.

Though Henry still can't help but smirk as his mother puts an arm around his shoulders, resting her head against his as she smiles down at the little girl fast asleep and wrapped up in blankets.

They walk back home in companionable silence with the exception of Roland deciding to point out the 'pretty lights' whenever a house's exterior was decorated for Christmas. When they got back to her mansion, Regina mused she should get something for her front garden; lighting for her topiary perhaps, or an ornament for her porch, or a wreath for her front door...

Robin grabs her hand, pulling her from her musing and into the warm foyer of her home.

She lets him de-robe her as the kids make their way upstairs, removing her winter coat and hanging it alongside his, unlooping the scarf from around her neck and placing it on the coat stand. Regina smiles in gratitude, wondering how she ever became lucky enough to be loved by this man and his adorable son.

Though the 'adorable' momentarily slips when she hears two distinct thuds from above, followed by several smaller ones.

She knows that sound. She has been accustomed to it for years. Though not from _this_ particular little boy.

"Roland Locksley?" Regina shouts in the general direction of his bedroom, before warning; "Those had better not be your shoes being left on the stairs, young man..."

They hear a quiet huff, and a series of soft stomps across the landing, before a head full of curls peeks over the top bannister.

"Sorry, R'gina," Roland mumbles.

"That's alright, honey," she assures. "Just remember next time, please, okay? I don't want you tripping and hurting yourself."

"Okay."

"Well, well..." Regina hears from behind her. "Look what I just found."

She turns to see Robin stood with mistletoe in front of him, and a cheesy grin on his face.

Roland runs back up the stairs with a suffering shout of " _Henry, they're doing it again_ ", making the adults laugh even more.

Robin holds the mistletoe above his head, and reaches out towards Regina with a soft; "come here."  
The moment she places her hand in his, Robin tugs her to him. He wraps his arm around Regina's slim waist, pulls her in close and greets her smile with a kiss.

...

When the boys come back downstairs a short while later, the adults can't help but let out a chuckle at the sight of them.

Henry has a red, Christmas sweater on, a cross-stitch pattern of snowflakes and snowmen covering him. And Roland? He's wearing a sweater too, a green one with a reindeer appliqued and bordered in sequins - though this one obviously used to be Henry's; the hem comes down to his knees, and although the sleeves are rolled up as far as they can go they still only _just_ get past his small hands.

But the little boy is beaming, so proud of his new sweater, and the adults can't help but beam with him.

However, at the mischievous looks the boys start sending each other, their grins fade and their eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"What are you boys up to?" Regina asks, a hint of warning in her tone.

They both declare a very unconvincing ' _nothing'_ before moving around to the back of the sofa where Regina and Robin are sitting.

The next thing they know, Henry is pulling a hat onto Robin's head, and Roland is pulling one onto Regina's - though the young boy slightly misjudges and it covers one of Regina's eyes too. She fixes it with a chuckle, turns to Robin, and then her chuckle turns into a full-blown laugh.

He looks adorable, the white fluff framing his face, red taking the place of his dark blonde hair, a pom-pom resting on his shoulder...

 _Ho ho ho..._ She thinks with a giggle as she dips her head.

Though Robin reaches out and hooks a finger under her chin, guiding her to face him as he takes in the sight of a festive Regina.

"You're beautiful," he confesses, drawing from her a blush so red it matches her hat.

Unable to resist, Robin produces a branch of mistletoe - _from where? Regina has no idea_ \- and holds it between them. But two seconds later, the plant has completely disappeared from his grasp, and Robin and Regina's smiles fade into frowns as they look behind them to see Henry - having commandeered the mistletoe - staring back at them with an unimpressed glare.

"Have you two not kissed enough lately?"

"I can never have enough kisses from your mother," Robin declares, and Henry smiles at the love in his voice before thinking a little more about it and back-tracking to a grimace.

"Henry..." his mother implores, her head tilted against the back of the sofa as she looks at him with soft eyes and a slight pout - _seriously? His mother is giving him the puppy-eyes?_ \- and Henry finds himself giving in.

He turns to Robin, with a stern; "just this once."

"It is most appreciated, my boy," Robin says as he nods and smiles.

"But..." Henry starts as he turns to his mother; "you have to make me a hot chocolate to make up for it."

Laughing, Regina accepts wholeheartedly, "deal."

With a sigh, Henry holds the plant out where he had taken it from Robin's grasp, turning his head away and putting his free hand over Roland's eyes, giving the all-clear; "Fine, go ahead."

He hears a chuckle, but after a few seconds - and at the first hint of a quiet moan - he throws the mistletoe at the pair to break them up.

...

Later, standing in the doorway with two mugs of hot chocolate, Regina looks over the scene before her with a fond smile.

Robin is sat dozing in front of the fire, leaning back against the couch with his son sitting on his knee – his Santa hat still on his head. Henry is sitting opposite them, involved in a hushed conversation with Roland that - try as she might - Regina can't quite hear.

Though she hears the grandfather's clock in her study sound from behind her, the 9 chimes signifying it was a certain adorable little man's bedtime.

"Roland, honey, it's getting late. Time for bed," Regina declares, watching as the young boy's face falls and he looks back towards Henry - who had long since learned bedtime was non-negotiable except for birthdays and other special occasions, and so merely responded with a shrug.

"Can you read me a story, Henry?" the young boy asks, no doubt turning on his own puppy-eyes which he knows gets his own way more often than not.

True to form, his wish is granted, and Roland beams and claps his hands together.

Climbing to his feet, the little boy moves towards the table near the fireplace, picking up the mistletoe there, bringing it to Regina and pursing his lips at her - looking so much like his father it momentarily takes her breath away.

She soon recovers, laughs and then bends down to pepper his adorable little face with kisses until he squirms out of her hold. He giggles before he runs up the stairs, leaving the festive plant in her hand.

Regina smirks as Henry starts to walk towards the doorway she's stood in, lifting the mistletoe as she raises her eyebrows.

With an exaggerated roll of his eyes, he comes to a stop in front of her, offering her his cheek with a teasing scowl.

Regina reaches up to grasp his chin, turning his face towards her and giving him the same embarrassing attack of affectionate kisses she had Roland.

" _Mom!"_ Henry whined, jokingly scrubbing his cheeks with his hands as he took several steps back from her with a glare she was sure he inherited from her.

"Hush, I love you," Regina offers as explanation, before nodding her head towards the stairs and continuing: "now go upstairs and read Roland his story."

"Yeah, whatever," Henry grumbles, making plans to burn all the mistletoe in existence.

...

Robin's still sleeping when Regina sends Henry to bed - without another mistletoe kiss attack, much to his delight - but the thief's head is now at an angle where he's releasing soft snores with every breath.

It draws a fond smile from Regina, her head tilting to the side as she takes a moment to just admire her man. It still amazes her how on earth fate has decreed she deserves him.

Robin shifts in his sleep, curling in on himself a little as his features morph into a small frown. Regina frowns with him, musing that he might be feeling the chill on the draughty floor, and then her glance sweeps over the room to find the 'sleepy blanket' she had bought Henry when he was young that is now a permanent fixture in her living room. It's strewn over the chair in the corner, crumpled from not having been put away properly when Roland had cosied up to it the night before, but the majority of creases drop out of it after a good shake.

Regina muses on all the nights this blanket had been a source of comfort, from the young toddler who had refused to let it out of his grasp the moment he chose it in the store, to the young boy who ate too much pizza and felt ill for days, to the young adult who fell asleep on his mother's shoulder during a movie, to a mother parted from her little prince and missing him dearly... This blanket has been loved for years, and - judging by a certain little merry man who has now also taken to the patterned fleece, counting the white moon and stars embroidered on it until he had fallen asleep - it was going to be loved for quite a few more.

And now? It's being used by a sleepy, festive-looking thief whom Regina would gladly fetch his own moon and stars for, if it brought her his dazzling smile. He's become such a huge part of her life now, she'd give her entire world to him if he asked.

The edges tuck around his shoulders, and Regina tugs at the ends to cover his red-socked feet before she stands and looks over the man in front of her.

He's never looked so adorable.

Though she changes her mind when he shifts and snuggles into the blanket with a small smile; _that_ is when he's cutest.

But his shifting means one of his hands peek out from under the fleece, and Regina can't help but chuckle when she notes another damn piece of mistletoe held in his grasp. Gently prying it from his fingers - _he must really have an affinity for this plant,_ she notes - Regina places it on the corner of her mahogany coffee table.

But then she changes her mind.

She glances at Robin out of the corner of her eyes, twirling the stem in her hand as a smile grows. Taking a step towards him, Regina holds out the mistletoe above her soulmate, gently removing his hat as she leans down to press a kiss to his forehead before she pulls back to gaze at him with a fond smile.

She has a feeling in her heart that this is going to be the best Christmas ever - providing that there won't be any pressing matters for anyone to tend to.

Regina's not naïve enough to believe they'll live happily ever after - Snow does enough of that for the entire town - but they're both living happily now, and that's all that matters to her.

...

Robin wakes with an ache in his neck and a room with two fewer people in than he went to sleep with.

He strains his ears, trying to hear any sound, but gets nothing but a faint clock ticking. So, grumbling and wincing, he stands, stretches his back - moaning at the series of pops - and then starts his quest to find Regina.

She's not in her study, or the lounge, or the kitchen…

Just as he's about to search upstairs, he catches sight of her out the window looking out over her garden, standing underneath her tree. The light from inside softly illuminates her, casts a glow around her silhouette that makes her appear even more of a goddess of beauty to him than she already is.

It's not a difficult decision to go outside and stand with her; he'd follow her anywhere - to the depths of hell and back if they ever need to.

He feels the frost crunch underneath the festive slippers Henry and Roland had insisted he wear over the holidays, and a chilly breeze ruffles his hair. Robin hopes both him and Regina can head inside soon and warm up by the fire; he'd become accustomed to residing in a warm house.

When he's a couple of steps away from her, he sees Regina eyeing the apples on her tree, debating which ones will join those already in the wicker basket tucked into the crook of her elbow.

"I'm no expert," Robin begins, "but apples don't usually grow this well during winter do they?"

A wistful smile appears on Regina's face as she explains; "I've tended to this tree my entire life. It's survived throughout the harshest of conditions."

Robin wraps his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder as he observes; "Like its owner."

Tilting her head so it rests against Robin's, Regina lifts her arm to rest over the one he has around her, interlacing their fingers at her hip.

"Here's hoping easier times are ahead."

Robin isn't sure if she's referring to her tree or herself, but he agrees anyway, humming as he holds her a little tighter, as if to protect her from whatever has troubled her in her past. "I'm sure there will be."

Regina smiles, angling her head to press a kiss to Robin's cheek then burying her cold nose into his neck, turning into him and humming in contentment when he wraps her in his embrace. She leans to her left to place the basket on the ground and he leans with her, grinning when they both straighten and her arms wrap around his neck, pressing her front to his and allowing them to soak up each other's warmth.

They both stand in silence for a short while, so very slightly swaying and occasionally holding the other to them a little tighter. Though Robin soon breaks the peace, his curiosity winning out as he murmurs; "What's with the apples?"

"It's a Christmas tradition," Regina answers, pulling back so she can look at him. "I used to hide them around the house, and Henry used to try and find them. For every apple he brought back to me, he was allowed a chocolate decoration off of the tree."

"That sounds like fun," Robin smiles.

"It was," Regina agrees, before admitting; "Henry and I haven't really had the chance to do it for the past couple of years, but I thought Roland might enjoy it."

"He'd _love_ it," Robin assures, and then - upon realising just how perfect his soulmate is - leans forward to place a kiss to her lips.

But he stops just shy of his intended target, holding up a finger between them before reaching into his hastily-donned jacket pocket and producing a small branch of mistletoe.

Regina can't help but let out a loud laugh, shaking her head at Robin before she closes her eyes and presses her lips to his.

Apple picking can wait.

...

It takes a good half hour in front of the fireplace for them to warm up properly when they come back into the house; having gotten a little _too_ distracted in their kisses outside, they had only broken away when a full-bodied shiver from both of them had forced them apart.

But they are nice and cosy now; cuddled up to each other on the couch, a Christmas film on the tv that neither are really paying attention to, just content to be in each other's company.

It occurs to Regina that the last time she and Robin had been curled up to each other in front of the fire, neither of them had even an inkling of what was to come. They had let themselves hope that they'd found their second chance, and that nothing would keep them apart...

They had been mistaken.

But that was then, it wouldn't do to dwell; they are back by each other's sides now, forging through together, hand in hand, and Regina is determined to not let anything else part them again. She belongs with her soulmate, and he with her.

Sometimes she still has to remind herself that this is the man who has chosen to love every part of her, someone kind, funny, caring... Someone so loyal to those he loves, such a good father, an amazing lover - and if she wasn't feeling so tired, she'd be taking advantage of the latter right this second.

But as she's recovering from a busy day, and is perfectly content staying right where she is for the moment, Regina will settle for grabbing the discarded mistletoe on the coffee table in front of her, and offer herself up for a few lingering kisses with the man who owns her heart and soul, warming her up an entirely different way.

...

Having originally planned for an early night, Regina sighs as she's pulled into _yet another_ kiss at the top of her stairs. If she'd known Robin was going to stop and honour tradition under _every single damn piece of mistletoe he saw_ then she would have suggested heading up to bed fifteen minutes earlier.

But she can't complain, not really; she's never had so many kisses, felt so wanted, enjoyed Christmas so much...

So she'll allow this, allow herself to be pressed against a wall and her breath to be stolen from her with languid, tongue-filled kisses. She'll allow herself to be swept off of her feet and carried down the hallway without ever parting from her soulmate's lips. Because this is her life now - being cherished - and she'll embrace every minute of it.

Though her tired self doesn't easily permit that; forcing her to end their kiss so she can let out a yawn into his shoulder.

"Okay, point taken," Robin chuckles; "milady is very tired."

She mumbles an apology in response before her head drops back down onto his shoulder.

Setting her back on her feet, Robin takes Regina's hand and leads her into their bedroom, smiling when he hears yet another yawn from behind him.

He guides her into her en suite with just a lingering peck on the cheek for the mistletoe above her mirror, then changes into his nightwear, switches on the bedside lamps instead of the main ceiling light, and eases himself underneath the duvet, feeling his eyelids start to droop as he waits for his love.

A few minutes later she returns - looking as tired as he suddenly feels - and offers him a sleepy smile. She changes in front of him, and Robin can't help but prop himself up on an elbow to watch her, marvelling at the planes and curves of her body, so much so that he doesn't see the discarded blouse being thrown his way until it's over his head and blocking his vision.

He pulls it off with a chuckle to see Regina's glare.

"Stop staring at me," she huffs.

"Can't help it," Robin defends as he throws the shirt back at her, returning to lying down onto the bed as he declares; "you're just too beautiful."

He misses the way Regina ducks her head to hide her grin, and the blush that brightens her cheeks whilst she finishes getting ready for the night, though he can feel her smile when she climbs into bed and immediately presses a kiss to his shoulder.

"Goodnight, my love," Robin whispers as Regina turns to switch off her bedside lamp, and she replies in kind.

Though once his eyes have accustomed to the dark, he reaches into his personal cabinet and withdraws the last piece of mistletoe he hasn't yet given a place.

"Would you grant a lowly thief a goodnight kiss, your majesty?" he asks, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head which technically makes his request null and void anyway.

When she looks up at him, he can see a light in her eyes. Robin can barely make out her smirk before she takes the mistletoe from his hand and throws it over her shoulder to land somewhere he plans to collect it from tomorrow. But then she kisses him and his plans fade to nothing but the woman in front of him.

As his mind drifts to the mistletoe she has just thrown, Robin chuckles and silently agrees with the symbolism...

Of all the places needing mistletoe, their bedroom certainly wasn't one of them.


	2. 11 Lucky Apples

**Ok, so… Day 2 of 12 :D**

 **I'm so glad people seem to like this, and to those who have left reviews I shall get back to you shortly but thank you so very very much!**

 **Here: have a hearty dish of OQ fluff with a** _ **big**_ **side of Regal Believer!**

…

Regina spends most of her morning hiding apples, letting some peek out as easy pickings, and putting others in places where items would have to be moved in order to find them. It's time for the traditional Mills' Christmas Treasure Hunt. Robin had even helped hide a couple, the thief in him coming out with glee as he sought the best places to stash the fruit.

But the rules of this game are clear; everything is to be left _exactly_ as it is found. And certain rooms are off limits; Regina's bedroom, her en suite bathroom, the kitchen, and the draws in her study. Everything else is fair game.

When Regina drives to pick up the kids, Robin moves a couple from Regina's hiding places to more difficult ones, having an inkling that Henry will also be joining in the game - despite Regina's prediction that he'd consider himself 'too grown-up' to participate this year - and so it shouldn't be too easy for him.

From the moment Regina arrives back with the boys, Roland is practically buzzing with excitement, and Henry seems rather impatient too - though he's a lot more adept at hiding it.

"Now then, remember what I said…" Regina starts before she's interrupted.

"No apples in the kitchen, yours and daddy's bedroom and bathroom, or your study drawers," Roland obediently parrots - apparently having been given the basic rules in the car.

"Good. Now then, there are eleven lucky apples to find…" She waits, watching Roland bounce on his toes in anticipation before she gives the final order; "let the festive hunt begin."

Roland races out the room, Henry following after him declaring; "I know mom's hiding places, follow me."

There's the sound of sudden change in direction, a thud and a muffled 'oops'.

"Boys; I want nothing broken," Regina warns, referring to both her furniture and any bones.

"We'll be fine," Henry shouts. "Don't worry."

Regina and Robin wait, eyes drifting to the door the boys ran out of, becoming more and more impatient for one to return with each moment that passes.

Though after a couple of minutes they hear an excited yell of 'Found one!' before there's a quick patter of footsteps racing towards them.

Roland runs to Regina, bouncing on his feet as he repeats; "I found one! I found one!"

"Yes, you did," Regina laughs as said apple is waved in her face. "Well done."

She takes the apple and gestures to the tree for him to take a chocolate, which he does so with glee. He picks a gold wrapped bell at eye-level, tearing into the foil and scoffing the chocolate so fast it was almost classed as a magic trick.

"Hungry, my boy?" Robin chuckles, to which Roland enthusiastically nods.

Regina turns over the apple in her hands, "would you like to eat this apple as you hunt for the next one?"

With a smile the boy nods, reaching out towards her, but Regina stops him, gesturing to wait a minute as she walks towards the kitchen.

She's back not a minute later, but Robin now notes the apple in her grasp has a star carved into it - something which Roland seems to love if his beaming smile is any indication.

"Here you are, but no more running around, ok? Take it easy."

"Ok, Regina."

The young boy runs back to the doorway where Henry is stood, proudly showing off his 'pretty apple'. Henry just raises a brow and looks to his mother, stating; "he's only five, mom."

"You were four," Regina counters, before shooing him away with her hand and; "carry on."

She watches them both leave before sitting back down next to Robin - who asks; "What was that about?"

"When Henry was younger, I used to let him eat apples as he was searching for them," she explains. "But Henry is a clever boy, and at four years old he started bringing back the apples I'd given him to eat, pretending that he'd just found it so he could get an extra chocolate."

"The crafty boy," Robin chuckles, admiring the young kid's sneakiness.

"Indeed," Regina agrees. "So I carved stars into the ones he was given so he couldn't cheat anymore."

Robin pouts, " you spoilsport."

"He was too sneaky for his own good."

With a smirk, Robin teasers; "His mother's child…"

Feigning shock, Regina puts a hand over her heart and declares; "I don't know what you mean!"

They grin at each other for a moment before they hear an exclamation of; "Found another one!"

And so the game continues.

Roland brings back five apples - though Regina's sure he had a little help with a few of them - and Henry brings back three of his own, stating; "it's only because I want some chocolate."

Nobody says anything about the bar of Hershey's in the cupboard he could have gotten instead.

The time between apples being found has slowly increased, and after the eighth apple, the boys appear to be stumped.

"I'll go and help Roland," Robin suggests, placing his hands on his knees ready to stand. He leans towards Regina and quietly confesses; "I may have moved some."

Regina rolls her eyes with a sigh; "Robin…"

Robin defends himself with an insistent; "I had to make it more difficult for Henry."

"Well, you might have made it _too_ difficult," she counters with her brows raised.

But Robin scoffs, and goes in search of the boys and the three remaining apples.

Regina's left looking after their baby girl, her hand placed over a small, socked foot and tracing her thumb back and forth across teeny-tiny toes.

She remembers when Henry was this small. Some days it feels like a lifetime ago, and yet others only yesterday. He had mostly been a good baby - once they'd gotten past the initial bonding and he had listened to her pleas for him to just give her a chance - he hadn't been _too_ fussy, had let her sleep for a good few hours at a time, and when he had been whinging he had been soothed easily with a few cuddles.

 _And now look at him…_

He gets embarrassed when his mother kisses him in public, he'd gladly stay in bed until noon should she let him, and where she'd once been able to hold him in the crook of one arm, he's now almost surpassing her in height.

He's growing up _far_ too quickly, she muses. But he'll always be her little prince.

At least she knows he isn't too old for the festive apple hunt now; he may pretend that he's not that interested to begin with, but he can't hide the excitement in his eyes just before he starts searching around the house.

He's already found three rather quickly (and whichever ones he let Roland have), no doubt the fiercely competitive streak in him coming out - for which Regina will at least take partial blame.

Henry soon finds his fourth, plopping down on the couch next to his mother and holding out his apple in front of her.

"It was outside, behind two plant pots," he announces. "That's a new place for you."

"Robin decided to move a couple to make it more difficult for you."

"He succeeded."

"Yes, well…" Regina begins, "Unfortunately, Roland does not quite have your seeking skills just yet."

Henry moves to stand up, inquiring; "Do you want me to go and help him?"

"No, that's ok; Robin's gone to do that," Regina replies, before wrapping her arm around her son's shoulders and guiding him to sit next to her. "You just stay here with your mother for a while."

Henry slouches into Regina's side, resting his head against hers as he smiles.

"I love you, mom," he whispers, turning into her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I love you too, Henry," Regina replies as she holds him tighter to her. She can't help but jest; "not too old for cuddles with your mom just yet then?"

His vehement ' _never_ ' brings tears to her eyes, and she closes them to prevent any from escaping, pressing a kiss to her son's forehead before shifting down further into their hug.

Regina would be perfectly content to just stay there for hours, but her other boys suddenly appear in front of her, matching smiles, matching dimples and matching apples…

"Ok, go and get your chocolate off of the tree," Regina smiles, though she frowns when Robin also selects a treat and eats it.

When he turns back to her with his cheeks puffed out with candy, he shrugs his shoulders and mumbles; " _what_?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina wonders if she perhaps has four children in the house now. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

Roland looks up at his father, smiling as he sticks his tongue out and teases; "yeah, dad."

"Hush you," Robin whispers as he nudges his son's shoulder, before turning back to Regina and making a show of swallowing the food in his mouth. "Better, _mom_?

Regina hears Henry snigger into her shoulder as Roland comes to sit the other side of her, and she just glares at Robin in reprimand, pointing out; "you helped hide those apples."

"So?" He shrugs, "now I'm handing them back in, and collecting my reward."

"That's cheating."

"That's being clever," Robin corrects before glancing to Henry and adding; "something that apparently runs in the family."

"Mom's fault…" Henry mumbles as a blush twinges his cheeks, realising his mother must have explained to Robin about the apples.

"Your mother is very clever woman," Robin agrees as he sits in front of the sofa by her feet.

Regina scoffs, "Don't try to suck up now."

With a suggestive _hmmm_ , Robin teases; "Maybe later."

"Maybe never," Henry quips before Regina can respond, glaring between the adults; "your kids are present."

It's only Henry who really understands though; Robin's daughter is blissfully unaware, and Roland is too young to understand and not even listening as he struggles with the red foil on his gift-shaped chocolate.

Once he's finished, Roland passes his chocolate over to Regina with sticky fingers and a; "thank you for the game, R'gina."

"You're welcome, honey," she smiles, before placing the chocolate in her mouth and carding her fingers through Roland's hair.

"We should do that next year too," Henry suggests, trying to sound rather complacent.

Roland does the exact opposite, bouncing in his seat as he wholeheartedly agrees; "Every year!"

"We'll see," Regina chuckles as she settles down with her two boys by her sides, her man at her feet and a little girl right in front of her.

Regina's already decided to plan this next year, and perhaps the year after that, and perhaps even the year after that. Because she can do that now; she can plan for the future with her family. And for as long as she lives, she will endeavour make every Christmas better than the last.


	3. 10 Unlikely Carollers

**Apologies about this one being posted a little later into the day, was a bit busy last night.**

 **Anyway, have some cracky fluff and get into the Christmas spirit with a few songs – and if you're not singing them after this then I will tell Santa to come down your chimney and throw glitter at you.**

 **Thank you to all who have reviewed, y'all are great!**

…

Being dragged out to the Christmas fair by her step-daughter and step-son-in-law is not exactly how Regina had pictured her evening, but alas, here she is; Snow White on one arm and Prince Charming on the other, trudging down the main street.

The two had been waiting outside her office the moment she finished work, declaring that she was going with them to the fair and that was that.

Regina had offered up a few excuses which were immediately brushed aside; "Christmas is a busy time and I just want to get home," was met with "the fair is so pretty, you'll be relaxing in no time", "Don't you have to get back to Neal?" was answered with "he's at the fair with Emma and Hook whilst we came to fetch you", and "I should really get back to Robin and the kids," completely backfires when it turns out they're already at the fair...

Not having the energy to argue with Mr and Mrs Insufferable, Regina lets herself be dragged to a few hours of socialising with the rest of town-folk, and if Robin's already there then perhaps he'd let her just stay with him and wind down whilst they traverse the stalls.

The moment she sees him she does just that; unlinking her arms from the two lovey-dovey idiots and curling into Robin's side, releasing a sigh when she's enveloped in his embrace.

She hears Snow and Charming converse with their daughter, fussing over Neal, asking if he'd behaved and tutting at Killian's jest; "I'm afraid he burned down half the stalls while you were away."

She can see Roland out of the corner of her eye, peeking into his sister's pram that Henry was minding whilst she was wrapped in Robin's arms.

A stall nearby is playing Christmas songs, and almost every person that walks past them is - at the very least - humming along with Wham's 'Last Christmas'. Regina hears a few kids sing along with their own modern versions that they probably picked up from school, where George Michael's heart was not given away but 'sold on ebay' instead...

It brings a small smile to her face, and Regina starts to feel the stress of yet another busy day just float away.

"We won't stay for long," Robin murmurs into her hair before pressing a kiss to her crown and _oh god she loves this man_.

With a deep breath Regina raises her head from where it had been resting on Robin's shoulder, feeling a bit more willing to join the festivities now she knows she'll be escaping to the sanctuary of her home in a short while.

She has to admit, the scenery is beautiful; the festive tents decorated with tinsel, the trees lit with fairy lights, people walking around with ugly sweaters and Santa hats and reindeer ears... It was a pleasant sight to see the town enjoying themselves and not worrying about impending doom for a while.

Though 'All I Want for Christmas is You' starts playing, and from the sudden grin that breaks out on Snow's face, Regina wonders if she should be a little concerned for the safety of her town after all.

The princess latches onto her husband's arm, proclaiming; "Oh, I _adore_ this song!"

Regina glances around warily, already knowing what's about to happen, and sure enough, the moment Mariah Carey starts singing, Snow joins in with that airy, delicate voice of hers.

A few people who were walking past stop and stand to the side, listening as Snow turns to Charming and sings lines to him as she takes his hand. Regina pushes down the urge to gag, instead, her upper lip curls and she turns away from the embarrassing display of nauseating affection between the two.

When the music picks up for the first chorus, Charming puts down the empty coffee cup he had been holding, takes his wife's other hand and starts twirling her, joining her in song.

Rolling her eyes at the pair, Regina starts to suggest the rest of them leave the idiots to it, but to her surprise, Emma seems to be singing along too, laughing whilst Killian tries to join in but ultimately fails as he just mumbles around the words.

Henry starts singing from his place beside her, and _what is this? Did they plan this whilst she was at work?_

Her son nudges her shoulder, eyebrows raising in encouragement for her to join in which is met with an unimpressed glare. But he links his arm with hers, starts gently swaying them and grinning as he continues singing to her, and it's damn contagious. Eventually - albeit _very_ reluctantly - Regina starts mouthing the words too, singing under her breath and smiling at the victorious fist-pump from her son.

Mission apparently accomplished, Henry lets Roland pull him into the little dance area in front of them, joining his other mom and Killian and his grandparents - who had now gathered an audience that are clapping along to the rhythm and singing the words they know - leaving Regina to lean back into Robin.

Despite her initial reluctance, Regina still continues with the melody, letting out a chuckle at the mention of mistletoe and the memory of all the kisses shared over the past couple of days, hearing Robin letting out a laugh of his own.

Neal starts babbling from his pushchair besides the one Robin has a grip on, nonsensical syllables that sound more in tune with the song than Killian's mumbling does. Regina glances around her, from the couples dancing in the middle to the audience clapping and singing around them, it's all rather contagious and the Mayor finds herself singing a little louder and swaying a little more noticeably, meeting others' eyes as a dare for them to even mention it.

Robin manages to pick up a line from the chorus, singing the title of the song into Regina's ear that brings a blush to her cheeks and a smile to her lips.

More people gather around them, raising the volume of singing until it was almost a shout at " _won't you please bring my baby to me_?"

A few people from the audience step forward, dropping change into the coffee cup Charming placed down before he'd began dancing with his wife and _no; this is not a charity collection_ Regina mused with a scowl. But Robin restarts their swaying and she gradually re-joins the festive merriment alongside him.

When it gets to the end, hearing the high pitched ' _youuuuuuu_ ' from the mouth of Charming is borderline painful, and Snow puts a hand over her husband's mouth with a laugh to save the town from deafness. The end of the song is drowned out by applause, a few _whoops_ and several whistles. Those who had been dancing turn to the audience and take a bow - which just brings more applause and _whoops_ and whistles.

The sound of Slade filters through the ruckus, lyrics about stockings and Santa and reindeers, and there's a sudden chant of 'sing, sing, sing,' mixed in with those who are already doing it.

Predictably, it doesn't take much for Mr and Mrs let's-start-a-makeshift-ball-at-the-Christmas-fair to join in again. Killian decides against even attempting the next song, instead making his way over to Robin, both of them finding common ground in not knowing _anything_ about these songs at all. Roland's next to join the ' _no clue'_ brigade, squishing between Regina and his papa with a smile on his face.

That leaves Emma and Henry without anyone to sing to, and despite Regina's logical prediction of them finding each other, they both turn and look directly at her, leaving the Mayor feeling a little deer-in-the-headlights at the sudden attention, seeing where this is likely to go...

Sure enough, mother and son make their way over and - regardless of Regina's initial warning ' _no' -_ they each link an arm with hers and drag her into the middle.

Her protestations aren't all as serious as she pretends them to be; despite having initially been wholeheartedly against the idea of the makeshift carolling, she has to admit that it had brought a smile to her face, had made her feel considerably happier than she had just a few minutes prior. And so she lets herself be guided into the throng, towards the back where Snow and Charming have already taken residence, standing beside each other and loudly singing ' _so here it is; Merry Christmas...'_

With Emma singing on one side, Henry singing on the other, Regina finds herself joining in, glancing around at the audience and seeing all smiles, no glares thrown her way, no looks of disgust, no sense of threats...

It's a Christmas miracle, and it puts her at ease.

Though she notes the dwarves arrive, and if anyone is going to suck happiness out of this it's going to be Grumpy. But Grumpy is... _Smiling?_

Regina blinks, blinks again, squints her eyes and _yup, Grumpy is actually smiling._

What was she saying about Christmas miracles?

But then she notes why; a certain fairy by his side who goes by the name of Nova. She's very pretty, her hair in a bun wrapped in tinsel, a glittery dress, a beautiful smile... Regina doesn't know what she sees in him, but she will not judge, not when a heroic thief has given the former Evil Queen a taste of true love.

Regina sees Nova elbow Grumpy in the side as she starts singing along, encouraging him to do the same, and when he joins in with a small smile the other dwarves do too. Most of them appear to be drunk; swaying with their arms around each other's shoulders, a few of them with a beer in their hands, increasing in volume until the music is barely heard in the background.

It's only when Regina's gotten over the sight of an un-grumpy Grumpy that she notes what he's wearing; a Christmas pudding woolly hat, and a pair of reindeer antlers that light up. The accessories clearly weren't his choice - were more likely his date's judging by her Christmas cheer - but he's wearing them anyway, in the name of love.

Another thing he'd apparently do for love, is yell out " _it's chriiiiiiiiistmaaaaaaas'_ at the appropriate point in the last chorus when Nova asks him to, making the entire makeshift choir almost double over in laughter and lose the ability to breathe for a moment. He receives a kiss to the cheek in reward, and his smile glows brighter than the lights in his reindeer antlers.

Again, at the end of the song, there's a raucous applause, and it takes several moments before it quietens and the next song is audible.

The kids in the audience start singing along with Sinatra's _Jingle Bells_ before the adults do, having had to rehearse it for weeks before their Christmas nativity at school. They even follow the basic choreographed routine; shaking their hands where there had been bells wrapped around their wrists for the musical numbers. A few of the young ones look a little disappointed when they realise they aren't creating any noise and turn to their parents with sad frowns.

Robin watches over Regina from his place on the sidelines, seeing her head tilt as she bites her lip in thought as she glances over at the kids. A smirk grows on her face, and with a flutter of her fingers and a few purple sparks, the grumpy pouts the children had been sporting turn into beaming grins when they see small bells connected by red ribbon appear on their wrists.

There's a sudden rattle of noisy excitement before they settle into the rhythm of the song, and the parents look up to Regina with grateful smiles and she responds in kind.

Robin loves her, absolutely adores her. This woman who used to bring fear into everyone's hearts, who is now bringing smiles and happiness to those very same people. The woman who was renowned for being alone, is now surrounded by friends and family - himself gratefully included – who'll support her for the rest of their lives.

Still singing away, she looks over to him and smiles.

Robin smiles back.

Yeah, he'll gladly spend the rest of his life by her side.


	4. 9 Hours of Baking

**Hi, ok, so behold the chapter that made me gain half a stone in weight… I must have eaten everything in my treat cupboard writing this.**

 **Have some Snow Queen feels, and I cannot continue writing the rest of these oneshots without giving the little outlaw queen peanut a name, so behold a little conversation about that too.**

 **Again, thanks to all those who have reviewed, you guys make my day :D**

 **Mwah**

…

Regina's awoken by an incessant pounding at her door, a thumping that sounds as if it's coming from directly inside her head at a time that's far too early on a day home from the office.

She'd been woken up rather often the previous night, having dealt with the piercing sound of a baby crying more times than felt humanly possible. In return, Robin had offered to take the kids to school, telling Regina to sleep a little more with a kiss to her forehead and a comforting pass of his hand over her hair. She'd snuggled into the covers without any argument, praying that the little foghorn would actually get some sleep and not wake her every half hour.

And when she has _finally_ managed to get some well-needed rest, some idiot decides to incessantly knock on her door and wake her up.

Grumbling, Regina grabs her robe, slides her feet into slippers and hopes this person stops battering her house down because if they wake the baby she'll turn them into a barbeque.

Of course, she's likely to do that anyway the moment she finds out it's Snow White. For all the 'putting aside their past and focusing on their future' they've done, there is still a seed of hatred buried so very deep inside Regina, and although it's now rather insignificant, disrupting her precious sleep is a sure-fire way to make it flare again.

With a deep, calming breath through her nose, and a set jaw, Regina cuts straight to the point and asks: "what do you want?"

Oblivious to Regina's rising temper, Snow starts to ramble: "We're having a Christmas Fair at the school tomorrow to raise money for new sports equipment but the person who was supposed to be catering the food stalls has fallen ill, and I've organised a supply teacher to cover for me today to try and make it myself but I have no idea where to even start! So I thought I'd ask for your help because you're amazing at baking and I know that you're having some time off and I'm really sorry for coming to you at 9:30am but I really _really_ need your help, will you help me? Please, Regina, just say you will because I'm going crazy over this and I just-"

Regina holds up a hand and Snow's tirade grinds to a halt.

The princess is looking at her with her hands clasped in front of her and a hopeful expression that seemed a little too eager - even for the president of the hope committee. Nevertheless; "first thing's first: Snow, _breathe_."

Obeying, Snow takes in a deep breath through her nose, holds it for a few seconds and then releases it through pursed lips.

"Better?" Regina asks, and the princess responds with a nod. "Secondly: how much is there to make? Because despite having a day at home instead of the office, I still have some work to do."

"I don't know," Snow admits, before perking up and offering: "But with the two of us it will go a lot faster."

"What needs to be made?"

"Whatever you can manage," Snow declares, being seeing Regina's no-nonsense glare and admitting: "We were planning a stall for cakes, cookies, pies, chocolate, and I believe the caterer was going to try this turkey, bacon and cranberry roll from her festive menu."

With a frown, Regina mulls over the idea, trying to work out if she has enough time to finish her work from home _and_ practically start her own catering business.

When Snow decides the decision is taking too long, she smiles and offers a saccharine: " _please_ , Regina. The town needs you."

Regina huffs _. Typical_. Join the side of heroes and cater to the people's every whim. Though at least it isn't some villainous threat hanging over the town that she has to take care of; she'd just have to spend a few hours in the kitchen. And she does like baking...

"Fine," Regina grumbles, before holding out a finger in warning. "But don't test me because I've had a restless night and curbing homicidal tendencies is going to take a lot of effort."

With an enthusiastic nod, Snow nods her head. "It's a deal."

"I'm not Gold," Regina quips, though perhaps asking for something in return would not be a bad idea if she was giving up her personal time for this.

As Regina steps to the side, stating she needs to get dressed as she allows Mary Margaret to enter her home - with boxes of ingredients that had been hidden to the side of the door - she just hopes that she won't be baking for her entire day.

...

The first hour goes by rather fast; pulling up the few online recipes that Regina actually agrees with, gathering equipment, measuring ingredients...

They've started with the savouries; choosing to attempt the turkey, bacon and cranberry rolls, and if they don't work out then they can push that recipe to the side and try something else before they get too involved.

Though there was no need to worry; they turn out a treat, and after just a single batch the two have already started tasting the goods. Just one. Each. To make sure they tasted good and to satisfy any cravings the smell of baking would awaken.

…

The second hour brings Snow attempting to make small talk, but - not having the patience to chat about who was dating who or who had switched jobs or who had finally found a long-lost relative - Regina turns on the radio, lowering the volume until it was pleasant background noise and not loud enough to encourage Snow to start singing again. She'd had enough of that yesterday.

...

At near 11:30, Regina hears her front door open and close, the thuds and rustle of bags being placed none-too-gently on the floor, and a declaration of: "honey, I'm home."

Of course, all that noise is enough to wake a sleeping baby, and the moment Robin peeks into the kitchen to see an unusually high amount of clutter and an unexpected guest, his little girl cries out for attention. The piercing sound reminds Regina of all the precious sleep she'd lost the previous night, and her teeth grind down in frustration as she bites out: "Robin, go and see to your daughter."

With a nod of his head and a mumble under his breath, he turns to the hallway, but then thinks better of it; he makes his way through the kitchen, around the centre island and gives Regina a kiss to the cheek that lingers until a smile tugs at her lips. Her anger ebbs away and she curses her soulmate. Damn him. Damn him and his magical kisses that make being pouty and annoyed impossible.

"How's that working out for you?" Snow inquires once Robin has left, clarifying; "having another baby around?"

"It's... going okay," Regina admits, and _yes_ , despite her obvious temperament this morning, she does enjoy having a new life in her home more than she thought she would.

Snow takes in a breath and asks a tentative: "Are you and Robin okay?"

Regina pauses, not exactly willing to go into detail of issues that both of them are still working out. But generally? "Yeah, Robin and I are okay."

"Good," Snow smiles, stopping in her mixing of cookie dough to place a tacky hand over Regina's floury one, declaring: "you deserve happiness, Regina."

Whilst she feels a comforting warmth settle inside her chest, Regina deflects what could easily turn into an emotional conversation with a dry; "I'm too tired for a heart-to-heart at the moment, Snow."

With an eye-roll towards her step-mother's tendency to avoid _talking,_ Snow changes the subject back to the baby, inquiring: "Have you named her yet?"

"I'm... I'm leaving it to Robin," Regina declares. "She _is_ his daughter after all."

Snow sees right through her, and as casually as she's stirring the bowl on the counter, asks her: "What do _you_ like?"

Regina turns to her, intent on telling her 'it doesn't really matter' but Snow raises her eyebrows at her in a knowing glare that refuses to take 'no' for an answer.

"I like Sarah..." Regina admits, turning back to the recipe in front of her before - noting she needs an egg - heading over to her fridge.

"Sarah?"

"Yes, it's delicate, pretty..." Regina trails off as she reaches to grab one of the two left.

Snow hums in agreement before pointing out; "Doesn't it mean 'princess'?"

"Does it?" Regina asks, not fooling anyone when she claims; "I had no idea."

"It's befitting; the Queen raising a princess," Snow grins, before smiling even more as she notes: "And Henry's your little prince."

Regina's voice grows quiet as she cracks the egg on the side of the bowl in front of her, murmuring, "he's not so little anymore."

"He'll always be your little prince, Regina," Snow comforts, before she purses her lips to the side in thought. "Does Roland have a nickname?"

Regina nods. "My brave knight."

"And Robin?"

"My thief."

Snow pauses, before asking; "Do I get one?"

"My pain in the ass," Regina responds without a moment's hesitation.

Snow guffaws before she sees the mischievous glint in the elder woman's eyes and they both chuckle.

With a mock narrowing of her eyes, Snow mumbles a deadpanned, "thanks."

"You're welcome," Regina delivers with a cheesy grin before she tells her; "you can put that dough on the baking tray now."

"Okay." Snow starts to reach for the tray they'd prepared and put aside earlier, her fingertips touching the metal before she turns back around and adds: "My evil buttercup."

The glare Regina sends to Snow has the princess almost doubled over in laughter.

...

The next hour goes by without many incidents - disregarding Regina's threat of turning Snow into a bowl of soup if she ever _dared_ call her a 'buttercup' again. Though when 1pm comes and goes, the smell of food finally gets to them, and their stomachs rumble and clench with the knowledge that aside from a few sneaky samples they'd tasted, neither of them had eaten a decent meal yet.

Robin chose that moment to re-enter the kitchen - his offer of help having been thrown out when he got in the way and spent more time eating the food than baking it - and the second the two women turned to him with identical hungry expressions, he resigns himself to being courier with a sigh and: "What do you want me to get you from Granny's?"

...

It's nearing half 1 when Robin returns with enough food to make getting through the front door a bit of a hassle, but he manages, heading into the front room - with his daughter cradled in one arm and three meals tucked into the other - with a shout for Regina and Snow to come and join them.

When the women spend a little longer in the kitchen, Robin finds them, removes the utensils from their hands and guides them into the front room regardless of their protests for just a few more minutes. After he's finished eating - and whilst Regina and Snow are having a much needed food break - Robin heads into the kitchen, making a start on the dirty cooking equipment that had been left in the sink to clean.

And if he sneaks a turkey, bacon and cranberry roll, and a mini-cupcake... Who would ever know?

...

Regina knows. Before she even sees the rearranged trays and crumbs down his shirt, she knows Robin has stolen some food.

But he's a thief, _her_ thief, and if he cleans the pots every time his bouts of kleptomania come to the surface then she'll gladly take what she can get.

Making a start on some mini-pies to go along with the several larger one, Regina mulls over possible fillings as her and Snow make the pastry. She's about to ask how things are going in Snow's family before the girl's phone rings, the sappy chords of some love song filtering through the faint _Let It Snow_ playing on the radio.

Regina tries not to eavesdrop - especially when she hears the flirty hello Snow delivers to her husband - but there's no hiding the slight panic from the other end of the call, and maternal instincts kick in when Snow's happy-go-lucky demeanour fades.

She picks up the general gist; David thinks Neal is ill, is worried, doesn't know what to do…

The moment Snow hangs up she turns to Regina, though the princess doesn't even manage to open her mouth to speak before she's interrupted with; "go."

"It's probably nothing serious," Snow starts, "David's a huge worrier; he worries about everything."

"Snow, go," Regina insists. "I can manage here; come by and pick up this food later."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't make me force you, young lady," Regina warns, thankful that her maternal quip brings a smile to the girls' face instead of the pout it used to when they were both younger.

With a wry chuckle, Snow walks around to the sink to wash her hands, then - on her journey out of the kitchen - pauses to wrap her arms around Regina's shoulders and whisper: "thank you."

"Get out of here," Regina grumbles, hiding the smile on her face at the quick peck to her cheek before Snow leaves her alone.

…

Robin returns to the kitchen when he hears the door close, inquiring about Snow's unexpected break, but Regina quickly fills him in, and with an understanding nod he re-delivers his offer of help.

The moment he starts washing his hands, Regina brings up his affliction for stealing, smirking when he freezes and his gaze turns sheepish.

"Your food tastes delicious," Robin defends with a smile. "I adore your cooking."

"Well if you're going to steal food from me, I'm going to start stealing from the secret stash of candy you have in your bedside cabinet." At Robin's indignant drop of his jaw Regina continues; "yes, I know about that. For the 'Prince of Thieves' you make things rather easy for me to find."

At the teasing raise of her brow and the smug smirk growing on her face, Robin dries his hands and declares; "I'm going to go and pick up the kids, get a bit of fresh air."

"You're only giving me time to come up with payback," Regina points out.

Giving Regina a quick kiss goodbye, he winks and suggests: "Here's hoping it involves you and a bed, hmm, love?"

...

When the kids get back, they're directed into the front room by Robin - "Come on, mom's very busy let's give her some space" - before he joins her in the kitchen to help out where he can.

"So..." he starts after a lengthy pause. "' _Sarah_ ', huh?"

This time it's Regina who freezes as her gaze turns sheepish. "You heard?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry," Regina murmurs, oblivious to Robin's puzzled frown at her apology. "I was just playing with ideas, I didn't mean-"

He interrupts her with a firm; "I love it."

Her surprised gaze turns to Robin. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he smiles. "Snow was right; 'our little princess' has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Regina presses her lips into a thin line, "Robin, she's your-"

" _Our_ little princess," he affirms, dropping the wooden spoon in his bowl so he could reach out to Regina and place his hand over hers.

"Robin..."

"Regina, you've offered to give this baby girl your support, your home, your love," he explains. "Of _course_ she's yours too. Unless... you've changed your mind?"

Her protest was between one heart beat and the next, an emphatic; "No, of course not,"

"There we are then," he smiles, waiting until she looks at him before reiterating; "Sarah. Our little princess."

With a watery smile, Regina leans forward to kiss Robin, fully intent on pouring her love into him, but then a certain _princess_ starts wailing at the top of her lungs and Regina's head falls down to his shoulder.

"Well... I think _our_ daughter would like some attention."

"Okay." Robin presses a kiss to the crown of Regina's head, unable to hide his smile. "I'll go and rescue Henry before he loses his hearing."

Her head raises to grin at him before the wailing raises a notch, and Regina's features pinch at the piercing shriek from the front room reminding the household who's the boss.

...

Nine whole hours after Snow had turned up at her door, Regina finally throws in the towel. Her gaze flicking over the trays of pies (normal and mini-variety), cupcakes, cookies, tree shaped chocolates, and the turkey, bacon and cranberry rolls that tasted so good she had sneaked a couple herself whilst nobody was around.

Puffing out her cheeks at the sight of the dirty pots she had yet to clean, Regina doesn't notice her thief coming behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Leave it," he whispers into her ear. "Go and get some rest, you've been on your feet all day."

"These need to be-"

"I'll do it," Robin interrupts, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. "Go, and get some rest."

"Robin..." Regina starts, intending it as a protest, but at the trail of his lips up her neck it morphs into a breathy moan.

Smiling into her skin, Robin's hands trail across her front, feeling her relax with every lingering kiss and sweep of his tongue.

"Robin, the kids are in the front room..." Regina observed, interlocking her fingers with the ones gripping her hips.

"And we're in the kitchen," he retorts with a smirk.

"I think..."

"Don't think," Robin gently ordered, pulling her body against his as his kisses travelled back down her throat. "Just relax..."

...

When Snow returns to the house a while later - spewing apologies, going on a tirade about how David is such a worrier, and giving assurances that Neal was absolutely fine - Robin helps her load all of the things into her husband's truck.

She peeks into the front room and smiles at the scene before her; Regina sat on the floor, a wide, beaming smile on her face, her princess in her arms, her knight by her side and her prince watching over them.

Snow feels tears spring to her eyes at the love she sees in front of her, and with the knowledge that Regina finally has the happiness she'd tried so hard for, the Princess makes to returns to the truck.

After all, she has a family of her own to get back to.


	5. 8 Snowy Surprises

**Okay, I'm sorry this is so late but I had a really busy day today and I've been distracted every single time I've sat down to work on it.**

 **But I hope the completely adorable fluffiness makes up for it. And hopefully some of the cute surprises give y'all as much feels as I got writing them.**

 **Much love to all who have reviewed, you guys are amazing and the source of my motivation, so thank you so very much.**

 **Mwah :***

…

The first winter snow has always had a positive effect on the town of Storybrooke. Somehow it feels more magical; reminding them of the life they had all experienced in the Enchanted Forest.

And for children, snow always seems to be an endless source of entertainment.

Roland catches sight of the first few flakes and starts jumping mid-route back from the park. He holds up the rest of his family whilst he stops to looks up to the sky - he had tried to continue walking but his feet had just crossed over each other and he had stumbled.

Henry chuckles, tilting his head back with a laugh, scrunching his eyes closed when the snow falls a little heavier onto his face.

The schools had announced they were closed for the day after a sudden weather warning that morning, leading to two hyperactive boys patiently awaiting the first signs of snow. And now that the predicted snow storm has started - albeit very faintly for the moment – the energy they expelled at the park seems to return with a vengeance, climbing to a level befitting a toddler on a sugar rush.

"Would you two just calm down a little, please?" Regina asks, adding: "before you hurt yourself."

"Mom, we're fine," Henry comforts, before Roland parrots the same assurance.

The older boy leans down to the younger one, whispering something in his ear that makes brown eyes light up with excitement and a mop of curls bounce with an emphatic nod. Just as Regina opens her mouth to ask what's going on, the boys' faces turn back to the sky, and Regina watches with a smile as they open their mouths to try to catch the falling snowflakes on their tongue.

Turning to Robin, Regina smiles even more when she catches him bent over the pram, ensuring the blankets are tucked around the sleeping princess inside. The love and devotion he has for his little girl makes Regina's heart melt, and she can't help falling victim to the magic of the first snowfall, grabbing Robin's jacket and pulling him into a surprise kiss after the heartfelt declaration; "I love you."

...

It doesn't take long before the ground is covered in a dusting of snow, becoming thicker and thicker as more and more of it falls. Roland keeps looking back to his father with a questioning gaze, and every time, Robin slightly shakes his head in the negative. Regina glances between the two, trying to work out what was going on between them, and after ten minutes of inquisitive gazes and answering dismissals, Regina opens her mouth to ask what the hell they were up to.

But just as her lips part, Robin turns to her, quietly asking: "could you push Sarah for a short while?"

Her ' _sure'_ is a little hesitant, but she switches stances with Robin and gets distracted with covering the tiny hand peeking out from underneath knitted blankets.

Upon the next glance Roland throws back to Robin, he's greeted with a small nod of the head, and Regina looks warily between them at what has just been agreed.

A split second later, Roland suddenly yells ' _Angels!'_ at the top of his voice, and both father and son drop to the ground. Regina's initial panic fades when she sees their arms and legs moving, finally working out what they were up to and letting out a fond laugh. Henry quickly catches on and joins in, lying down next to Roland on the sidewalk.  
Regina looks to Robin, wondering why of all places the _sidewalk_ had to be the place to do this. Admittedly, it was an empty street with only a couple of passers-by, but his choice of location still puzzles her. "Care to explain?"

"It's a tradition," he starts from his position on the ground, still sweeping his arms and legs as he continues explaining; "whenever the snow became deep enough, we'd drop everything we were doing to make snow angels."

Regina draws out her utterance; " _Right_..."

"It's a cool tradition," she hears Henry announce from his spot on the sidewalk in front of her. "I'm adopting it."

Regina looks back down into the pram, adjusting the blankets around her sleeping daughter and bargaining; "Us girls have to stay the sensible ones of the household, okay?"

...  
Once the boys have decided their angels are complete, they come to stand next to Regina and marvel at their creations. The size difference between them makes Regina smile, and she's too wrapped up in them to notice Robin step up behind her and wrap an arm around her shoulders. She can't help the reflexive jump and tensing of her body, but Robin's hand strokes up and down her spine in an apology as their sons brush off the snow clinging to their jackets.

Regina frowns at the flakes that get transferred onto her from Robin's movements, and - with a mischievous smirk - he dusts off right next to her until her coat is more white than navy.

A playful thump to the arm is what he gets in return, but her anger seems to fade when he kisses away her scowl and the kids turn away in disgust.

...

Regina lets the snow incident go... until Robin declares war.

As they turn onto Mifflin Street, Robin's hand passes along a hip-height wall, gathering a reasonable amount of snow before he flicks his wrist and paints Regina's back completely white.

Her steps halt, and the boys turn to watch the scene unfold.

Roland giggles, but Henry takes a look at his mother and lets out a low whistle, one which fills Robin with a small sense of dread.

"Regina, honey..." Robin starts, but she turns to him, her expression unreadable as she points to her daughter in a silent order for him to take the pram. He does so with a sheepish pout, trying to ignore his boys' sniggering in the background as he walks past them. Roland sticks with him, Henry holding back to walk with his mother, and Robin strains to hear their muted conversation but ultimately fails.

She's not angry with him, not _really_ \- he'd know if she was - but perhaps he should have seen if she was up for a little snow fight before he went ahead with it anyway.

Though, whilst trying to come up with tokens of apology, Robin also tries to anticipate what Regina will do next. Because he knows her, and while she's pretending to be mad at him, she'll be plotting and planning revenge.

She'll have a plan soon, he's sure of it.

...

Regina has a plan already.

She'll let him stew for a short while, let him try and work out a way to make it up to her whilst she works out the best way to get her payback.

She's considering doing the same thing he did - swiping snow off of someone's front wall to cover his coat - but Regina knows she's more creative than that; she'll find something else.

As she looks further down the road she spots the perfect opportunity, and then the 'evil' side of her comes out to play, feeling excited and positively gleeful at the prospect of Robin getting his comeuppance.

She counts her steps, plans her route, and just as they pass under a tree, she puts her plan into action.

Her steps quicken until she's beside Robin, and with a quick jump and an outstretched hand, the snow once piled on the low-hanging branches were now covering Robin's head and shoulders.

He stops in place, taking a moment to get over the sudden icy chill trickling down his spine and cooling his scalp. Then he chuckles to himself, hearing Regina's laugh and looking ahead to see her beaming at him, her eyes shining, nose scrunched, and holding both of her hands out for each of their boys to give a low high-five to.

Regina's laugh turns into a smug smirk.

He should have seen it coming. After all; there is nothing she does better than revenge.

...

The little flicks of snow aimed from one adult to the other continue until they reach their home, and then the kids join in…

Regina takes her daughter into the house, carrying her upstairs and into the little girl's bedroom, and then once Sarah has settled - and Regina is sure she is asleep - she makes her way downstairs to return to the boys, grabbing the baby monitor from her and Robin's room and clipping it on her belt so she can keep an ear out for the little princess from wherever she is.

She's not expecting the sight that greets her; Robin's lying back on the ground, holding his squirming son to his chest, and Henry is piling snow on top of them both.

"You boys having fun?"

Roland squirms even harder, squealing with laughter and shouting; " _save me from the snow monster!_ "

"Mom's not gonna save you," Henry declares, dumping more and more snow on the boy.

"Mom _will_!" Roland retorts, sticking out his tongue. "She's my hero."

Regina's heart melts, a watery smile appearing on her face at the raw devotion shown from the five-year old, and just as Henry goes to dump more snow on him, Regina flicks her wrist and Henry gets covered in it instead.

" _Mom!_ "

In the moments Robin is too busy laughing at Henry's sudden Jack Frost impersonation, Roland wriggles free and runs into Regina's waiting arms with a huge smile. She stands with him on her hip, giving the boys a smug grin that declares her the winner.

But Henry's eyes light up with mischief, and before she can throw a warning glare his way, he's leaning over to Robin and whispering in his ear something that makes the thief throw his head back and laugh. Regina knows her son, knows his affinity for snowball fights in her garden, and from the looks of it, another is about to start.

Quickly placing Roland back on the ground, she bends down with him and starts scooping snow into a ball as she quietly talks.

"Okay, Henry and Robin are going to throw some more snow at us, _but_ we are going to throw even more back." She points to the ground next to her, the side blocked from Henry and Robin, where she's already started scooping more snow together, asking; "can you make snow into balls like these?"

Roland nods, an excited smile lighting up his face, and Regina can't help but grin along with him.

A few years ago it would have been just her and Henry, team Queen vs team Prince, but now she has an extra player on her side; a cute, little, dimpled thief, who could charm the way out of anything with his adorable smile.

They are going to win. Regina is sure of it.

Glancing over to where Henry and Robin are still standing and talking - presumably going through their strategy - Regina surreptitiously gives Roland one of the snowballs she has made, telling him; "On the count of three, we're going to throw these at Henry and your dad, and then we're going to run and hide behind the shed, got it?"

"Got it!" Roland affirms, standing straight with his puffed out chest and serious face.

"Okay, one... Two... _Three!"_

The boys don't see it coming, and once Regina had grabbed Roland's hand and lead him behind the shed, they share a quiet hi-five and tally 1-0 to team Dimples Queen.

Though it soon becomes apparent that perhaps teaming up against Henry wasn't Regina's best idea…

He knows all of her moves, her tactics, and as she and Roland continue to bear the brunt of surprise snowball attacks, Regina finds it very hard to resist whisking up a personal snowstorm around her opponents with her magic. But after firing a rapid succession of fifteen snowballs at the pair earlier, Robin and Henry had classed that as cheating, and declared if she did it again the game would be forfeited to them.

So with a grumble, Regina's behaved herself. Under protest.

Though Roland proves a valuable asset; as much as Henry knows the way Regina plans, the little boy knows the way his father does. And it's due to Roland's sneakiness that they manage to claw back points, a quick stun-and-run here, a chuck-and-duck there, and as Roland diverts Henry's attention to the front of the house, Regina creeps up behind where Robin is crouched at the side for back-up, preparing to attack.

With her lip trapped between her teeth, Regina edges quietly towards him, but her feet crunch in the snow and damn the outlaw and his super senses, because he turns and spots her before she's ready to show him who always wins in this house.

Seeing no out, Regina throws the armful of snowballs in his general direction - laughing when a few hit their intended target - before turning and running back to base.

But Robin is fast, oh so fast, and before Regina can get very far there's an arm wrapped around her waist and she's being tackled to the ground. They both land in a pile of snow, and the flakes falling from the sky coat Robin's back as he lies on top of Regina - and the snow she grabs in her hands gets pushed down the front of his jacket and makes him squeak and squirm. She gives up the fight when laughter takes over her whole body, making any effort to gain the upper hand - or even sit up - completely futile.

Hearing the commotion the adults are making, Roland and Henry make their way back around to the side of the house, the eldest letting out a warning shout of ' _dive bomb'_ before he joins the pile-up, the youngest following suit soon after.

The rest of the game gets forgotten, dismissed as a draw the moment it becomes a free-for-all, and play only comes to a complete halt half an hour later, when a little girl starts wailing through the monitor on Regina's hip for someone to obey her every demand.

With her daughter cradled in her arms and her outside-gear replaced with a chunky-knit cardigan and slippers, Regina stands at the door to her back garden, watching as her boys are crouched together a couple of metres away from her with their hands in the snow, their previous war all but forgotten.

"What are you lot up to?" she asks, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

The trio look between them, Henry shouting back to " _wait a moment"_ as Roland's hands are suddenly a flurry of activity, Robin reaching to his left to help his son out.

Regina waits patiently, her foot tapping on the doorstep as she gently rocks Sarah back and forth, the urge to see what they were doing becoming more and more pronounced with every passing second. But just as she's about to ask again, Roland stands and moves to beside her, followed by Robin and then Henry.

There's... _something_ drawn into the snow - three somethings, but she'll concentrate on Roland's for now. Regina tilts her head this way and that, trying to work out what it is, but fortunately, her little knight comes to her rescue and announces; "it's a puppy!"

"A puppy? _Wow_!" Now she knows, Regina can certainly make out the head and body and four legs and a tail. She turns to Roland and smiles, "Well done, honey."

"Thank you," he responds, before adding; "I made it because it's my Christmas wish."

Regina pauses, internally sighing. She'd gone through several years of Henry wanting a puppy for Christmas - and birthdays and every other single day of the year - but she had always refused, explaining that with Henry at school and Regina at the office there would be nobody to take care of a dog, and it wouldn't be fair.

But with Robin now a stay-at-home dad, Regina has been waiting for Henry to bring it up again whilst she could no longer use that excuse.

She never thought it would be her _other_ son that raises the 'can we have a pet?' debate.

Not wanting to commit to anything before she's thought it over, thoroughly, Regina steers thoughts back to the drawing and reiterates; "it's brilliant, dear."

Next, she turns to Robin's little sculpture, a silly, love-sick smile appearing on her face when she sees a heart with a crown drawn into the snow above it.

Robin moves his hand from the small of Regina's back to her waist, pulling her a little closer to him as he leans to speak into her ear; "for the Queen of my heart."

Rolling her eyes at the cheesiness of it all – and pretending she's not blinking back emotional tears at the emotional sentiment anyway - Regina's unable to resist pressing a kiss to Robin's lips before uttering a quiet; "I love you."

" _God_ , get a room," Henry mumbles from the other side of Robin, drawing all eyes his way.

"Fine, let's see what you did," Regina declares, before looking over to Henry's sculpture, smiling at the bow and arrow moulded into the snow and Robin slightly puffing out his chest beside her - she doesn't have the heart to tell her soulmate Henry is completely infatuated with the Hawkeye comics and it's likely a nod to the super-hero instead of the legendary prince of thieves.

"That's great, honey," she praises, genuinely impressed at the level of detail her son has put into his work.

"It's a bow and arrow!" Roland declares, becoming rather excited as he jumps and exclaims; "just like Dad's!"

Regina starts to explain about super heroes and Hawkeye, but it appears Henry has the same difficulty breaking bad news to the Locksleys as she does, and so he just agrees, matching his level of enthusiasm to Roland's as he repeats; "yup, _just_ like Dad's."

Regina feels her heart flutter in her chest, the reminder that she has an entire family to love and cherish leaving her a little breathless. And as Henry takes Roland inside to finally warm up - promising a hot cocoa and an introduction to comics - she's left standing next to her soulmate. The thief of her heart. Though she hears her own words inside her head - " _you can't steal something that's been given to you" -_ and promotes Robin to King of her heart instead, knowing that given the chance, she'll gladly spend the rest of her life with this man.

...  
Much later in the evening - just when feeling has returned to numb fingers, and cold toes have been warmed underneath layers of blankets - Robin steals the boys once more and whisks them outside with him, telling Regina to stay inside with Sarah when her features scrunch at the mere thought of being in the icy breeze without the bright sun to give the illusion of warmth.

So she's left inside with Sarah, singing soft melodies in an attempt to soothe her into sleep - she's not quite there yet but it's definitely working to calm her down. Of course _, just_ as the little girl's eyes close and she drifts into the land of nod, the door bangs open and heavy footsteps make their way into the front room, waking her and drawing a discontented whine.

" _Boys_..." Regina warns the moment she sees the pair in the doorway, raising an unimpressed brow when she notes the boots still on their feet and the dirty snow they've trodden into her carpet. But they're grinning, grinning so much Regina's awaiting the inevitable cramp in their cheeks, but their excitement is infectious, and without even knowing what's going on – and forgetting about her mucky carpet - Regina starts to smile too.

Henry walks around to his mom, reaching forward and transferring the sleepy baby from her arms to his, "let me have Sarah."

Roland comes to stand in front of Regina, bouncing and pulling at her hands to get her to stand.

With a puzzled frown Regina asks: "Why? What's going on?"

"Just trust us," Henry answers. "Go with Roland."  
Regina lets herself be dragged outside and onto her driveway. She gasps at the biting wind and the cold seeping in through her woollen slipper boots, wondering; _what was so exciting that she wasn't allowed to stop to put warmer clothes on first?_

She soon gets her answer.

Robin's stood next to her car - softly illuminated by the porch light and the Christmas decorations he'd strung over her front lawn during her baking session with Snow - looking rather nervous with his hands behind his back and a tentative smile on his face. And when she looks to the left of him - to her Mercedes that was coated with a layer of snow - she notes writing on the windshield.

Four words. Four simple, little words that have her heart pounding, eyes watering and hands shaking…

 _Will You Marry Me?_

When her tear filled eyes turn back to Robin he's lowering himself to rest on one knee, bringing his hands around to his front and opening the small box he had been hiding behind his back. Regina sees him clear his throat, take in a breath and open his mouth ready to speak, and before she knows it, she hears herself say; "Yes."

He frowns, looks down to the ring in his hand then back up to Regina. "I um… I actually had a speech planned."

Regina laughs at how adorably put-out he looks, the gathered tears finally falling down her cheeks as she starts to walk towards him; "you don't need it."

Her steps pick up speed the closer she gets, and Robin just manages to stand straight before Regina barrels into him, her arms wrapping around him as his wrap around her, Regina's momentum spinning them on Robin's unsteady feet.

She's vaguely aware of Roland and Henry's excited cheering behind her, but her focus is on Robin, pulling back from him enough to meet his mouth with hers and _embarrassed kids be damned;_ she is most certainly going to kiss her man, her soulmate, her king of her heart...

Her fiancé.


	6. 7 Surgical Stitches

**Okay, I know I'm getting progressively later with these updates, but I've been away from my laptop all day and although this is a rather short little oneshot, it took me a while to actually come up with something I could write for the number seven.**

 **It ended up being a little regal believer thing, with Hook just about making it to tomorrow's instalment alive, so yeah…**

 **Hope you enjoy :D**

…

Regina gets the call on her lunch break. And the town can crumble to dust for all she cares; her son needs her.

Emma had rang her and told her that their son was currently being seen by a doctor. Apparently it was nothing serious but Henry had been asking for her, and so the race to get to the hospital has Regina breaking every speeding law that currently exists in the town.

Every one of her imagined scenarios becomes worse, ranging from minor bumps to broken bones to internal bleeding to... No; Emma said it isn't anything serious. Henry will be fine.

Of course, that doesn't mean she's not livid by the time she walks into the hospital waiting area.

"What happened?" She asks the moment she's within earshot of Emma, walking past everyone else - Snow, Charming, Hook, Belle, Gold, Robin... - and heading straight for Miss Swan.

"The lad tripped-" Killian starts to explain as he comes to stand by the two, but Regina cuts him off.

"I'm not asking you; I'm asking Emma." Regina turns back to the blonde, repeating a firm; "What happened?"

"Henry tripped over some rope on the deck of Hook's ship," she explains; "he hit his head and caught his arm on the way down."

"Who is at fault?" Regina inquires, drawing a confused frown from Emma. "Was the rope supposed to be there?"

"Well, no…"

"So who put it there?"

Emma's eyes flicker to her left almost imperceptibly, but Regina notices, her fiery eyes following and landing on Hook, her voice turning dangerously low as she states: "The pirate?"

From over the other side of the waiting area, Robin sees the way Regina's hands clench, can tell from the tensing of her spine that he has a few seconds to intervene before Henry is not the only one needing medical attention.

He takes the few steps it takes to stand behind her, grasping her shoulders and letting his touch run up and down her arms in an attempt to soothe, whispering in her ear, "Regina, take it easy, honey…"

She turns her head to face him, fierce determination in her eyes as she points out; "He put my son in hospital."

 _She has a point,_ Robin muses. And if Roland had injured himself on somebody else's watch then he most certainly would have a word with those responsible.

But he can't create fire in the palm of his hand. Regina can. And the entire hospital is at risk of being burned to the ground unless Hook is kept well away from the pissed-off mother.

"I'm sure it was an accident," Robin placates, before moving his hands to Regina's hips to guide her away.

But Emma grabs Regina's left hand and pulls her back. "What is that?"

Taking her hand back, Regina dismisses any further questions with a curt: "Nothing that concerns you."

"But..."

"Can we just focus on Henry?"

"And completely avoid the fact that you're engaged?"

Regina grits her teeth together, wishing Miss Swan had kept her voice down and not announced her business to the _entire_ hospital waiting room, because now a certain someone knows and will likely not stop with their incessant questions until they know _every single detail._

" _What?!"_ echoes around the hospital, and before she can blink, Regina's being dragged over to the Charmings, sat next to her pain in the ass, and being riddled with questions from an excitable Snow White.

"When was this? Why didn't I know about it? Was it cute? Was it romantic? Robin went down on one knee, didn't he? Tell me everything."

...

Doctor Whale calling out " _Family for Henry Mills?_ " puts a stop to Snow's endlessquestions after a forty-five minute interrogation, and half the waiting room stands up and makes their way to Storybrooke's lead physician.

Without preamble, both Emma and Regina ask; "How is he?"

"Your boy is fine," Whale comforts. "He had a bump to the head but there was nothing on the CT scan to indicate anything to worry about. He has a laceration to his arm, and he has to rest for a while. But he'll be absolutely fine."

"Can we see him?"

"Room 104, but no-overcrowding, please; only two at a time" Whale informs, and the offer to escort them there gets lost in the sudden mass exodus from the waiting room.

...

"What were you thinking?" Regina chastises the moment she sits next to her little boy, "you need to be more careful."

"I know, mom," Henry smiles, having had this exact discussion from his _other_ mother on the way to the hospital. "I will be."

"Good."

Regina quietens, softening her concerned glare into something resembling a comforting smile. Her hand rests on Henry's shirt as her fingers gently tickle his stomach, bringing a smile from him too as his hand comes to rest on top of hers.

"You had me so worried, young man."

Henry looks a little sheepish under his mother's gaze, mumbling an apology under his breath.

"Let's see your arm then," Emma suggests, and both mothers wince the moment Henry peels back the dressing to show a rather long gash on his bicep, held together with stitches. "How many did you get?"

"Seven," Regina answers, and when Emma turns to look at her with a confused frown, she merely shrugs and declares; "I have eyes and I can count, Miss Swan."

With a subtle roll of her eyes, Emma turns back to her son and asks; "How you feeling, kid? You alright?"

"Yeah, it's all cool."

Regina frowns. "' _Cool_ '?"

"Yeah, Whale said I'll likely have a scar."

Both mothers look between them, concerned at their son's apparent admiration for permanent marks of injury and considering giving him an important _discussion_ regarding his personal safety.

"And how are scars classed as 'cool', exactly?"

"Hook said so," the boy shrugged. "He said they attract all the girls."

" _Did he now_?"

Regina's rhetorical question is filled with warning, and when Emma and Henry both look towards her, they watch as she brings a hand in front of her and lights a flame in her palm.

"I'm going to kill that damn pirate!"


	7. 6 Festive Movies

**Hiiiiii,**

 **Ok, so, y'all have no idea how much I wanted to have a movie day after writing this, but I get distracted enough by thin air so that probably wouldn't be a wise idea when I have a lot of stuff to do. But yeah, here, enjoy a little domestic day with the Mills/Locksley family.**

 **(Again,** _ **huuuuuuge**_ **thank you to all who leave me a reviews for this, sending y'all lots of kisses, mwah)**

…

It's so cold outside, and there is so much snow that most of the town has closed and nobody can travel anywhere. Facing another day working from home – with the hope of actually _working_ and not spending all of her time baking – Regina settles on her sofa with her laptop and files, enjoying the quiet before her children wake and feeling comforted by the quiet sound of Robin milling in the kitchen.

He brings her breakfast, the way he tries to do whenever she's home for the morning. And when she pats the seat next to her, he knows she's not too busy that he can't sit next to her - and he loves when he can do that. As per usual, slowly but surely, she leans into his side, and she steals a strip of bacon from his plate when she thinks he's not looking - and he lets it go and pretends to be completely oblivious. And when the boys come downstairs he loses another strip of bacon and half of his sausage. God help him when Sarah's old enough to steal his food from him too.

The kids make themselves comfy on the other couch perpendicular to them, flicking through the tv channels trying to find something decent to watch for the day. The moment they come across _The Polar Express,_ Henry's eyes light up and he declares this shall be on their screen for the rest of the hour - and once he's checked the rest of the tv guide and noted a whole day of his favourite movies, he hides the remote in the front pocket of his hoodie and amends the 'hour' to 'day'.

After explaining enough of the things they've missed from The Polar Express for Roland to understand what's going on, both brothers quieten and follow the adventures of the Hero Boy and friends. It's not long before Sarah wakes and is brought in to join them, curled up in Robin's arms and fading in and out of sleep whenever she's not hungry or needing her diaper changed.

After half of the first film, Regina puts her laptop on the arm of the chair and heads upstairs, and when she comes back down with several throws and pillows, she piles them on top of the boys for them to make a small blanket fort whilst they watch their movies - a habit Regina and Henry had gotten into when he was young and they'd organise a duvet day with tv and popcorn and pizza when one of them were ill or they'd both had a full day at home.

Despite all the popcorn, soda and other snacks consumed whilst the Grinch discovers friendship with Cindy Lou Who, the boy's stomachs are rumbling well into the adventures of Kevin McCallister trying to prevent two conmen from stealing from his home. Regina offers to cook for the family, but Robin refuses to let her off the sofa, passing Sarah into her arms and declaring he'll make them something instead; she should relax and take a break from her work.

A Jamie Oliver, Robin is not, but he certainly makes decent omelettes when called upon, and the shapes he makes the meals into for his family outshines his overly liberal use of spices - and Regina won't deny she finds the heart made from salad items to the side of her plate completely adorable. It's only when he's asked if he can make pie for desert that he's a little stumped; he'd be perfectly happy to just hunt the cupboards and give them whatever treats he could find.

Regina knows this, and thank goodness for his fiancée because she leans over to him and tells him to get the box of Queen Anne's Chocolate Cherries from the cupboard of her bedroom dresser - the ones she had been storing in secret for Christmas so they wouldn't get found by her teenage son and eaten within two days. Though on the journey back to the living room Robin gets peckish, and when he stands in front of Regina with chocolate filling his cheeks and a torn box in his hand, she raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

"I got hungry," he explains with the shrug of his shoulders.

"On your way to the front room?"

"It's a big house!"

With a chuckle, Regina shifts her legs to make room for him to sit down next to her, then replaces them upon his lap once he's taken Sarah back into the crook of his arm. And whilst the boys watch the opening of _Anastacia,_ scoffing down chocolates with the promise of not eating too many lest they become ill, one of Robin's hands makes passes over Regina's leg, sweeping from her calf to her thigh. It's not enough to be called indecent, but it's enough to have them making eyes over the screen of Regina's laptop from time to time, promising glances that become a little more heated by the time the on-screen princess chooses true love over her royal duties at the end of the movie.

Though when Sarah decides she's had enough of everything and refuses to quieten, Robin takes her to another room and leaves Regina feeling suddenly cold, frowning as she steals a blanket from the pile on top of the boys. When Robin returns with a sleeping baby girl, he sits underneath the grey, starred fleece and tucks it around his daughter.

The raucous laughter from _Elf_ has Regina thankful she has no neighbours, though a certain princess gets woken up several times and lets her displeasure known by a series of loud wails that have the boys sending over glares to their little sister alongside a few grumbles. But when Regina softly sings along with Jovie, the little girl's cries fade and she's lulled back into sleep.

Regina's "no" is firm when Roland suggests making Buddy's food creation, the one involving spaghetti and chocolate and maple-syrup that looks like cavities wrapped in a heart attack piled onto a plate. Though from Henry's whisper into his little brother's ear and the following giggles, Regina decides that she might just move all of the sweets into a lockable container anyway, just in case.

Once they've all eaten a late dinner and settled in for the last movie before the kids' bedtime, Regina decides enough is enough and packs in her work for the day. After all, Miracle on 34th Street is possibly her favourite movie of all time. The kids shift until they're all piled on one sofa and cosily warm under several blankets, Henry sat between the two adults, Robin holding Sarah, and Roland seated on Regina's knee.

Her and Henry had always enjoyed watching this movie when he was younger, probably the true believer in him relating to Susan and her quest to prove Mr. Kris Kringle is actually Santa Claus. Though it seems Roland relates to the protagonist too, watching the characters explore their new house towards the end before declaring: "I'm like Susan!"

"In what way, my boy?" Robin asks, reaching a hand out to stroke his son's hair.

"Because I got a new house too!"

Regina laughs, resting her chin on the boy's shoulder as she agrees; "you did indeed, honey."

"And Susan got a new dad but I got a new mom," he points out, his fingers playing with the ring on Regina's finger when Dorey reveals she's engaged to her daughter.

"That you did, my boy," Robin smiles, looking over Henry's head and watching as Regina grins back at him.

"And Susan's going to get a new baby brother," Roland declares the moment the girl divulges her final wish. "I got a big brother, _and_ a baby sister."

"You got it, kid." Henry held out his hand for a low high-five, before adding: "and you got the _best_ big brother in the world."

Regina and Robin both feel themselves get a little emotional when the boy declares; "The best mom and dad too."

"What about our sister?"

"I don't know," Roland scrunches his features together as he deliberates his answer. "She's noisy and cries a lot."

"Babies tend to do that, honey," Regina starts through a chuckle. "It's how they let us know something's wrong, because they can't simply tell us like you and I can."

"Will a puppy be noisy and cry a lot?" the boy asks, and Regina lets out a small sigh.

"It'll likely make a lot of noise, yes," Regina answers, before offering a hopeful; "Why? Would you not want a puppy if they're as noisy as your sister?"

"I would; I'd just like a quiet one better," he explains. "Can we get a quiet one, mommy? _Please?_ "

"Son..."

Robin's intended speech was interrupted by Regina, and her quiet utterance of; "We'll see."

Roland fist-pumps the air, and Henry looks a little surprised by his mother's change of answer to when he had asked throughout his childhood, but then the kids are sent to bed with the order of not spending half hour chatting like they had done the previous night.

They only spend twenty minutes quietly talking between them, but Regina and Robin still hear the quiet footsteps leading from Roland's bedroom to Henry's, and Regina muses that perhaps she should have been more specific in her orders.

But then Robin turns to Regina and brings up her non-committal answer regarding a puppy, and after she's shifted so she can curl into his side, they spend the rest of their night mulling over if yet _another_ addition to the family would be an entirely good idea.


	8. 5 Subtle Hints

**Hello there my dears,**

 **I've only just realised that we passed half way a couple of days ago, so I'm having mixed feelings about that. But hey… Never mind.**

 **Also, to those who have reviewed the last couple of days, I will get back to you, I've just been a bit busy.**

 **Without further ado…**

 **Enjoy.**

…

With enough energy to bottle and sell, Roland and Henry accompany Regina to the park so they can spend some time in the snow with others and let off some steam - with a promise from the eldest of the two to be extra careful due to his still-healing injury. Originally, Regina let Robin sleep in after he'd been up half the night tossing and turning, but it appears Sarah had other plans and summoned her father into the land of the living.

Regina had texted him to see if he wanted to join them, but he had declined, instead choosing to send incessant photographs of their adventures; 'the princess who wakes daddy then falls back to sleep a second later', 'the princess who thinks milk goes better on daddy's shirt than in her stomach' and 'the princess and the thief who miss mommy and their boys'...

The last one brings a smile to her face, and has her calling out to her sons that they're going to head back home in five minutes - she misses out the part where it's all because she wants a kiss from her fiancé.

On the way back home, Henry suggests taking them a different way, past the Convent which is decorated like Santa's grotto. Once Roland has ' _oooh'_ ed and ' _ahhh'_ ed over the pretty lights and reindeer statues and snowmen, it doesn't escape Regina's notice that this route also takes them past the animal shelter.

Her eyebrows raise and she sends a knowing glare to Henry who just shrugs his shoulders and pretends to be oblivious.

...

Regina diverts them to the other side of the road, not quite ready to head into the kennels without a clear objective in mind, and she just about thinks she gets away with the entire puppy debacle until she hears a bark and Henry suddenly vanishes from sight.

"Pongo!"

Sure enough, when she turns around, Henry is on his knees, supporting himself with one arm whilst the other tries to fend off the onslaught of affectionate licks from Archie's Dalmatian.

The man himself greets Regina with a friendly smile, attempting to start a conversation before Pongo notices Regina is here. He manages two words before the dog is leaving Henry and bounding over to the boy's mother, demanding her full attention.

With a small roll of her eyes, Regina bends at the waist, her hands framing Pongo's face as her fingers scratch behind his ears. A smile appears on her face, answering back to his barks as if they were in a normal conversation, lowering to her knees and laughing when his nose hits hers.

Roland comes and joins them, his small hands trailing over the dog's fur, giggling when Pongo's wagging tail repeatedly hits jacket sleeve. When Regina lets the dalmatian place his affectionate kisses on her face instead of wherever he can reach, Henry considers that 1-0 to the puppy brigade. But then his grin fades when Regina makes a spluttering sound and exclaims; "not in the mouth, Pongo!"

"Apologies, Regina," Archie says as he attempts to reign in his dog, "he's just very excited to see you after so long."

"Well, I've been rather busy," she explains, standing. "My town seems to have constantly been in danger lately."

"Of course," he nods, before inquiring: "But you're okay? You know my door is always open if you need to talk, Regina."

"I know, thank you, but I'm okay," Regina answers, gratefully smiling at him before thinking over her current situation, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she admits; "I'm great actually."

"I'm very pleased to hear that, Regina." Archie's eyes light up and his smile widens as he gestures towards the hand she has just altered her appearance with, offering; "and congratulations."

"Thank you."

Regina gazes at her ring, the princess cut diamond set in a gold band, two rows of smaller gemstones crossing and meeting in the middle. She still feels a surge of happiness whenever the reflected light catches her eye, feels giddy with the realisation that her soulmate has chosen to spend the rest of his life with her...

Speaking of which, she is still really needing a kiss from her fiancé.

"I'm afraid we really need to get back to the house," she starts, "but it was nice seeing you again, Archie."

"You too, Madame Mayor," Archie replies, picking up Pongo's leash as he inquires; "See you around?"

With a smile, Regina inclines her head, "I hope so."

And with that they part ways, Henry and Roland giving Pongo one last rub, Regina scratching under his chin before they head back home and Archie heads to the park.

"You know, a couple of years ago when Archie was... missing, I managed to look after Pongo perfectly fine all by myself," Henry states, giving his mother a glance from the corner of his eyes.

"That was only for a couple of days, Henry," his mom points out.

"Yeah, but... It still proves that I'm capable of taking care of one. And with Roland and Dad it'd be a lot easier. Just saying."

Before Regina can respond, Henry takes his brother's hand and quickly walks them down towards their home.

...

Once they're back, the kids dive on the sofa, scuffling over the remote with laughs and giggles until they accidentally land on 'Animal Planet' and watch their mom's reaction when it shows cute dogs doing 'the funniest things'. Her head tilts and a small smile appears on her face, and the boys grin and give each other a subtle low-five before they get chastised for dumping their shoes at the foot of the couch in a race to get rights to the television.

As Regina takes their discarded shoes and places them by the door, Robin starts to come down the stairs to meet her. A smile lights her face as she climbs the few steps needed to stand directly in front of him, wasting no time in pressing her lips to his in a kiss she had been craving all morning.

Snaking an arm around Regina's waist, Robin holds her to him and lifts her feet off of the carpet, laughing into her mouth at the startled noise she makes when he takes the final few steps down into the foyer. When he places her back onto the floor their kiss heats; Regina's back gets pressed against the wall, Robin's body gets pressed against hers, and his wandering hands thread into her hair as hers make their way under his shirt.

Letting out a content _hmmm,_ Regina melts into her soulmate, pulling him even closer before wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"I'm not complaining," Robin starts when he parts to breathe, "but is there a particular reason for this welcome?"

"I missed you," she explains, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose, "and I love you."

Unable to fight his grin, Robin leans back down for another kiss, professing his love between each press of their lips until they can do nothing but smile.

...

Not too long after the kids have settled down from their trip to the park, the boys are off out again; Henry had found the adults in the hallway - refusing to acknowledge their slightly flushed cheeks and giddy smiles - and had explained Snow had called, inviting him to lunch with his other mom and Killian.

Regina fusses, as she always does; "take your phone in case you need me, and I can come pick you up whenever, please don't stay too late - or let me know if you're staying the night."

"We're not staying the night, mom. Grandpa's going to drop us back."

"'Us'?"

"Oh, Roland has been invited too, is that okay?"

Regina looks to Robin, and Robin looks to Regina, and after a few seconds they both turn back to their eldest son and nod.

"Cool, we'll go and get ready."

With that he disappears, grabbing coats and scarves and boots before he heads back into where Roland is. They're back in the foyer within a few minutes, saying goodbyes and doing last minute checks.

"Enjoy yourselves," Regina calls out as they start to walk towards the door.

They both call out " _we will_ " but turn back at Regina's loud; "hey!"

Regina taps her cheek, and with an exaggerated groan Henry walks back around to acquiesce to his mother's demands for a goodbye kiss, and when she raises her brows at Roland, the young boy follows suit.

After they've gone and Regina's seen them both get into David's truck through her front window, she turns and starts to tidy up the place a little. She moves all of Sarah's toys into one corner, takes the boys' empty cups into the kitchen, and she's just about to fold the newspaper on the coffee table and put it on the shelf underneath when she notes what page it's on.

 _Storybrooke Animal Shelter: Pets for adoption._

"They're not exactly being subtle, are they?" Robin asks as he steps behind her and puts his hands on her waist.

With a smile, Regina responds: "I don't think 'subtle' is in their vocabulary, dear."

"So..." Robin starts, leaning into her a little closer. "The boys are out of the house."

"Yes, they are," she observes, already feeling a smirk tugging at her lips.

"Sarah's asleep in her room..."

"Indeed, she is."

"I was thinking..." Robin trails off as he presses a line of kisses up Regina's throat.

Her head tilts back, her hands reaching behind her and fisting in the fabric of his trousers. "About..?"

"About..." he starts, taking the lobe of her ear between his teeth and gently tugging, "taking you upstairs..."

Regina turns her head into him, muttering a breathy _uh-huh..._

"Getting you out of your clothes," he continues, his fingers tracing around to her front, toying with the buttons on her blouse.

Regina bites her lip, arching her spine and grinding her hips against him, whispering; "And..?"

"And completely," he presses a kiss to her shoulder, "and utterly," he presses another to her neck, "ravishing you."

"I'm not stopping you," Regina breathes, raising a hand and burying her fingers in his hair, enjoying a few moments of his mouth on her skin.

"Good," he mumbles, pressing a last kiss to behind her ear before he turns her to face him, bends at the knees and hoists her over his shoulder in a fireman's hold, laughing at her surprised squeal before making his way upstairs and doing _precisely_ what he set out to do.

...

"What kind of dog would we get?" Roland asks, not half an hour after they return from the Charming's lunch party - that turned into a dinner party too.

Robin raised his brows, firmly pointing out; "We haven't agreed to buying one yet."

But Henry teamed up with his brother, turning on the sofa to face his mom as he declares; "We saw this beautiful American Cocker Spaniel in the kennels, mom. She loved us."

Regina's features scrunch into a frown. "When did you go to the kennels?"

The boys turn a little sheepish as Henry mutters; "David took us earlier today."

"When you were supposed to be having lunch with Snow?"

The boys grimace as they look up to Regina, offering a tentative; "Yes?"

Her eyebrows raise in an unimpressed glare, but Henry continues his persuading; "But she's adorable, mom. Her name is Lady, and she gets along great with kids and she's kinda already trained…"

"Henry..." Regina warns.

"I'd take her for walks..."

Roland pipes up, raising his hand as he shouts; "And me too, I'd help!"

"And who's going to tidy her mess, hmm?" Regina asks, folding her arms in front of her.

The boys take a little longer to answer that one, but they still promise to do that too.

"And who's paying for the dog? The supplies? The food? The vet bills?..."

Roland nudges Henry's arm in a silent encouragement. "Well, we figured with you being Mayor you'd earn enough to cover that,"

"Oh, did you now?" Regina asks, her rhetorical question needing no answer but still receiving a nod from Roland.

"We'll have to see," she dismisses, before turning back to the tv and stating, in no uncertain terms; "If you boys even mention the word 'puppy' one more time tonight, I'll send you both to bed an hour early."

The boys cross their arms and huff, missing Robin and Regina's smile over their heads.


	9. 4 Awkward Santa's

**Okay, so this is rather shorter than most of the oneshots so far. But my brain went into it's whole 'hey, you suck' routine after response for the last chapter was a little low, so motivation was in short supply. Anyway, I hope tomorrow's fic is a bit better, and I'm sorry if today's isn't the OQ stuff you all hoped for. :***

 **...**

Due to the excitement of a five-year-old, dimpled Merry Man, Robin and his son are at Santa's Grotto almost an hour and a half earlier than the time sent out on the flyer.

They are perfectly content to wait outside the convent, messing around in the snow and marvelling at the decorations, but after a short while, Roland gets excited when Santa Claus walks past them towards the large building, giving them a wave and a smile as he goes.

The bounding to and fro in the snow continues the moment the door closes behind Father Christmas, Roland considerably more excited - and rather smug that he got to see Santa before everyone else did. Robin smiles, pats his son's head and then throws a handful of snow down the front of Roland's jacket to resume their previous playful war.

But not two minutes later, Santa walks towards the convent again, offering a cheerful 'ho ho ho', and once more Roland lights up and grins and points. But Robin frowns and pouts, noting this Santa looks considerably thinner than the first one that walked past. Perhaps there was a change of costume, he muses, or perhaps it was a different angle...

Robin pushes his thoughts to the side, concentrates on repaying his son for the sudden pile of snow aimed at his face with a laugh and a tackle.

About a quarter of an hour later, another Santa walks past, and this time, Robin knows he's not seeing things. This Santa is taller than the first, and more rotund than the second, and even Roland asks; "Daddy, is there more than one Santa?"

Feeling curiosity get the best of him, Robin answers; "I don't know my boy, but I'll go and see what's happening."

...

The sight that meets Robin when he peeks into the convent is not something he expected.

There's an irate Mother Superior standing to the side and talking to a younger woman that Robin had seen at their carolling session almost a week ago but didn't quite catch her name, three Santas in the middle of the giant hall in a rather heated discussion, and a sack of presents that's being pulled and pushed into each other's arms.

"I came first, I should do it," the first argued - the shorter one that had glasses perched on the end of his nose.

The second one tilted his head, stating; "But I'm more jolly, Doc, and I can do the 'ho ho ho' brilliantly!"

"We get that you're happy, Happy. But I did it last year and the kids loved me," the taller of the three argues in his strongly accented voice. "Besides, I carved the wooden toys myself."

Having apparently had enough of the bickering, Mother Superior and the girl - _Nova_ , Robin suddenly remembers - step forward; "Doc, you're Santa for the time being. Happy; you can get changed and be an elf to help out, and Gepetto, you can collect the wish-lists from the children and see if there's anything you or the convent can do to help. Okay?"

She doesn't wait for a reply before she's heading into another room and leaving the three Father Christmases to stare between themselves.

...

Robin sneaks back to the end of the corridor to where his son is, and together they creep their way outside and return to where a small queue has started to form.

"Papa, if there are three Santa's would that mean we get three presents?"

Robin smiles down at Roland, "I don't think there will be three Santa's, my boy."

The young boy pouts, his head drooping as he scuffs the snow with the toe of his boot, but then he looks up and beams; "No, papa! Look!" He cries, pointing behind his father, "there's four!"

Sure enough, there's yet another Santa walking up the front path. And Robin places his head in his hands, feeling for the guy at the discussion that will no doubt occur once Father Christmas no.4 goes inside.

...

The awkward situation of having four Santa's apparently gets resolved rather quickly, and about twenty minutes later, the kids are allowed to go inside to get their presents.

There's only one sack of gifts - much to Roland's disappointment - but he get his picture taken and a couple of his wishes are considered 'do-able' by the nuns dressed as elves, so he's happy anyway.

The wrapping paper barely lasts until they're out the door, Roland's impatience shining through as he tears away the red and white stripes until he has a stuffed toy in his arms.

"So... What are you naming him?" Robin asks, glancing at the green frog currently being held out in front of his son.

"I don't know yet..."

"Where are you going to keep him?"

"I'm not," the boy responds, receiving a glare from his father when he refuses to elaborate on his cryptic answer for the entire journey back home.

...

When the Locksleys get back to the house, Roland takes his boots off then immediately disappears into the front room. Henry steps out into the foyer to greet Robin, informing him that Sarah had been fine and slept the entire time him and Roland had been away, and if she did that every time he babysat then perhaps he'd do so more often.

Robin chuckles, of course she'd sleep peacefully for her brother and not her father, typical; she was already shaping up to side with the Mills' side of the family.

The sound of quiet murmuring comes from the front room, and both Robin and Henry move to the doorway to see what's going on. They see Roland bent over the side of his sister's crib, tucking the blanket covering her around the stuffed frog he had just been given for Christmas.

"This is to protect you," the boy quietly explains, unaware of his already doting audience. "Mama gave me a monkey, and she said it's to protect me when she's not there, because she wants me to be safe. And I want you to be safe because I'm your big brother. But I can't be with you all the time because I have to go to school, and we don't go to bed at the same time... So this frog is to protect you, and it will scare away the bad people."

Robin can't help the tears gathering in his eyes, his smile hurting his cheeks as he watches his boy press a kiss to his sleeping sister's forehead before declaring; "Mama says that this family is the best at saving people. And I promise you; I will always save you."


	10. 3 Poorly Boys

**Hi,**

 **So… Here's Day 10. Tadaa.**

 **I just wanted to personally say 'hi' and 'thankyou' to Cat who's been reviewing as a guest so I can't reply to any of their comments. But Cat actually changed my mind on what this day was going to be about :D This one is also inspired by a Christmas Eve a couple of years ago where my sister and I decided to eat all the icing meant for a gingerbread house. It wasn't what one would call a pleasant day.**

 **Also, a big thank you to all those who dropped me comforting messages after the last chapter. Yesterday's author's note honestly wasn't a bid for attention, it was just explaining the reasoning why the chapter was a little lacking, but I'm so grateful that I have wonderful people reading this who are so very kind to me. So a big thankyou to all you marvellous rays of sunlight, and you all should have a piece of cake on me.**

 **Lastly; I'm afraid today's is a little shorter than all the others, but I've been in pain from a trapped nerve in my neck all day, so I'm a little whiny and sitting in front of a laptop for several hours made me even more grumpy. Sorry. But I'm pretty sure tomorrow's will make up for it ;) *wink wink nudge nudge***

 **But anyway, Happy Christmas Eve Eve :D**

 **(Or Christmas Eve depending on what time zone you're in) :)**

 **Kisses :* mwah**

…

Her cupboards are empty.

Well... Her treat cupboard is empty. Unsurprisingly, the cupboard with fruit and vegetables and other healthy things barely seems to have been touched. And Regina has an idea of who the culprits are.

She finds them in the front room, the two boys curled up on the sofa and hidden under blankets, treat wrappers and cake cases piled on the coffee table alongside empty bottles of soda.

Regina's urge to surprise her boys with sugary pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast slowly dwindles down with every candy wrapper that she counts. And when she spies the wrapping for Storybrooke Market's stollen and the festive marzipan fruits that she had kept in her dresser drawer, she realises that they've sneaked into her bedroom through the night, and a disapproving frown passes over her features.

Carrying over the waste basket she keeps in the corner of her living room, Regina sweeps the litter off of her table, then wipes away the sticky residue left over until it's in the same condition it was when she and Robin went to bed the night before.

"Oh boys..." She sighs, looking between one passed out child and the other, "what am I to do with you?"

...

She makes her breakfast, wondering if she should make Robin some too before she remembers his grunt and the way he hid under their duvet when she tried to wake him up a short while previous.

So no; he can have something when he comes downstairs. And the boys can have something when they wake from what was no doubt a severe sugar high - followed by an equally severe sugar crash.

She's just boiling water for her tea when she hears the unmistakable, unpleasant sound of retching from the front room. Maternal instincts have her completely forgetting about her breakfast and rushing in to find Henry throwing up into the waste paper basket he'd pulled to him from the edge of the couch. Her anger at the mess her sons made and the fact they ate so much candy without her knowing fades away at the sight of her poor, little prince suffering.

Regina kneels in front of Henry, running a hand through his hair as she offers him soothing reassurances until his nausea has passed. And then Roland starts stirring, clutching his stomach and groaning, and any hope Regina had of chastising them without feeling sorry for them disappears completely.

But the young boy's face turns a shade of green, and his lips press together, and Regina knows those signs; knows she has a matter of seconds before the mountain of candy he decided to scoff last night reappears.

Grabbing the waste paper basket from in front of Henry, Regina leans over to her right, slightly toppling but still getting the small trash can in front of Roland in just enough time to not have his stomach contents emptied onto her carpet.

Regina sighs, looking from one sick boy to another.

It's going to be a long day.

...

Sitting at the end of the sofa by Roland's feet, Regina sips her morning tea as she watches her sons drifting in and out of the land of sleep, ready to comfort whichever one gets reacquainted with their trash can next. She'd found another, so she didn't have to keep swapping between the two, though she made a mental note to go to the furniture store tomorrow.

Henry stirs, glancing over to his mom with a forlorn expression and looking very sorry for himself. Making her way over and kneeling before him, she sweeps his hair off of his clammy forehead and presses a kiss to his nose.

"What were you thinking, Henry?" she asks on a sigh. "I thought you'd know better than to eat all that candy in the middle of the night."

"We were having midnight snacks," Henry explains, frowning at his sore throat then gratefully smiling when his mom lets him have a sip of her tea. "Roland said in the Enchanted Forest him and his dad always used to eat lots of sweets to celebrate Christmas Eve Eve, so we decided to do that here too."

Regina raised a brow. "' _Christmas Eve Eve'_?"

"Yeah, you know, the Eve before Christmas Eve."

"Yes, I get it." Regina looks from him to Roland and back again, knowingly asking; "and was it worth it?"

There's a pause before Henry rolls his eyes and admits; "...no."

"Well, that's what you both get for sneaking into my room and stealing from me in the middle of the night," Regina quips, letting some of her irritation seep into her voice.

But Henry shakes his head, declaring: "We didn't sneak into your room."

Regina frowns, knowing for sure that she had put that food in her room, and it had still been there last night. "But if you didn't steal the stollen and the marzipan fruits, who did?"

She looks between two of her boys before she hears the shuffling of footsteps in the hallway and the third turns up.

"Regina..." Robin starts, holding a hand to his stomach as he lets out a low moan. "I don't feel so good."


	11. 2 Naughty Adults

**Hi, so, the observant ones among you will notice the rating for this fic has now been upped to M. Oops ;)**

 **I tried to do everything fluffy fluffy but my mind refused to let me do all twelve ficlets without a little smutty smutty. So yeah, Merry Early Christmas to y'all :D**

 **...**

Robin eyes the clock at his side of the bed, noting there's half an hour until it's officially Christmas in Storybrooke.

He'd imagined what his first Christmas in this new world would be like the moment he realised that he had fallen for the former Evil Queen, but he had never pictured his current situation; engaged to said former Evil Queen, becoming somewhat of a father to her son in addition to his own, and then yet another addition to the family in the shape of his daughter.

It's been a crazy year that nobody could have predicted.

But things are good now, everything is slotting into place, and with any luck, him and his new family will have an easier year ahead of them. And if - heaven forbid - times continue to be rather difficult for them, Robin has faith they will make it through. Together.

There's so much love within this household that Robin can't help but smile, close his eyes as he sinks into his pillow, and just feel overwhelmed with how lucky he is to have found his soulmate - who happens to be the most incredible woman he's ever known.

Speaking of which…

"Regina?" Robin calls out, wondering what she's doing in their en suite; it never usually takes her _this_ long to get ready for bed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she responds through the door, and then adds; "how opposed are you to an early Christmas present?"

Robin frowns, they'd taken every present downstairs and placed it under the tree, and he hadn't seen any others anywhere. But as for answering her question, he teases; "I'm sure Santa won't mind if I unwrap one now."

Robin hears a quiet "good" before the lock unclicks on the door, and Robin frowns for never having heard it being locked in the first place.

But then she opens the door and _mother of all that is holy…_

His lungs expel air and then do not take in any more, his jaw drops and lips part in surprise, his heartbeat suddenly pounds against his ribcage as another part of his anatomy twitches and comes to life...

His fiancée is a goddess.

Robin's gaze had landed on her chest when his body decided to cut out on him - probably the sight of her breasts being pushed up and displayed for him in this red piece of heaven - but when he regains the control of his eyes he continues his journey downwards.

Her torso is covered in red lace down to her hips, a hint of olive skin peeking through wherever the lace is thinnest. Though down the centre of her body there are gaps, red ribbon that is tied together in five bows from her sternum to past her navel that is keeping the lace wrapped around her. Robin's fingers twitch with the urge to reach forwards and tug on the ends, baring her to him, but a part of him just wants to stay staring at her like this forever, and burn the image into his mind.

Robin notes straps from the bodice leading down her thighs, but his attention is drawn away to the so-very-small triangle of red silk covering her, and the two ribbons tied at her hips, his mouth watering at the thought of tasting what is underneath.

He always loves doing that; making her writhe and scream with just his mouth, he could never get tired of the way her hands wouldn't know whether to grasp the bedsheets or tangle in his hair, and when his every sense was overwhelmed by her, he was certain there was no other place he'd rather be…

But he has to push that heavenly thought aside for now; he still has more of her to discover, more sights he has to burn into his mind forever. His eyes continue down her thighs, following the red straps until the edge of the bed blocks his view. In one smooth movement he sits up, braces himself on one arm and lets his gaze fall further.

There are silk bows around her thighs, the bold red making way to a lighter shade as the rest of her legs are encased in translucent stockings, all the way down to her toes that peek out of heels that scream _'fuck me'_.

And that's exactly what he's going to do.

Once he's gazed at her a little more.

His eyes travel back up whence he came, his tongue swiping from one corner of his mouth to the other when he reaches the scrap of fabric between her legs again, his teeth sinking into his lower lip when he reaches the curve of her breasts in the cups of the bodice. Her hair is casually piled on the top of her head, loose curls falling down to caress the skin of her neck, and Robin can see the hint of a red ribbon wrapped around her messy bun.

And her lips... They're the same tantalising shade of red as her outfit, curved into a smug smile at the way he's spent so long staring at her without saying a word.

"So..." she starts, cocking her hip and biting her lip, "what do you think?"

He may have regained bodily functions enough to take in the sight of her, but words are still a tall order at this point, the only sound coming out of his mouth being ' _uhhh'_ in what Regina assumes to be a positive response.

She teases him anyway, feigning innocence as she offers; "I can take it all off if you don't like it..."

" _No_ ," he responds without missing a beat, and her smirk grows into a grin.

Robin has always loved seeing her in red - it was _her_ colour - but this? This was... _Wow_.

She takes slow, measured steps towards him, continuing until she's at the foot of the bed, just out of Robin's reach.

"You still haven't told me if you like it..." she reminds him, sensually trailing her fingers across her stomach just to tease him.

"I..." his intended compliment gets lost when she raises one knee and then the other to kneel at his feet. She was sin. Pure, carnal sin. "I'm one very lucky man."

With a low chuckle she slowly crawls forwards, placing a hand on his bare chest and pushing him to lie on his back. She settles astride his waist with a mischievous grin, grinding her hips down onto his semi-hard cock and drawling; "you have no idea."

Robin trails his fingers up her thighs, his fingers toying with the silk bows before he tucks his thumb under the red suspender straps. "Madame Mayor, I believe you've just found your place on Santa's naughty list."

"Oh, I've _always_ been on the naughty list, dear," she teases, winking at him, "but this time I'm taking you with me."

The feeling of her nails gently scratching down his chest have his grip on her thighs increasing as he takes a sharp intake of air through his teeth. "I'll gladly come with you."

Regina leans forward, her mouth hovering over the skin of his neck, her lip catching on the lobe of his ear when she moves higher to whisper; "that's the plan."

…

Robin takes his time unwrapping his early Christmas present, driving Regina crazy with open-mouthed kisses against the skin he reveals inch by inch - it's only fair to ensure she enjoys their early present too.

He's long since unfastened her shoes, placing a foot over his shoulders, watching as her head grinds back into the pillow with every press of his lips up her calf, her breathing increasing the further he travels up her thigh, but he stops just shy of where she wants and draws down the stocking before switching to the other leg and repeating.

He diverts his attention to the bodice after, practiced swirls of his tongue through the gaps criss-crossed across her torso have her fingers gripping his hair, tugging when his teeth pull at the bows until the lace falls down to the sheets and she's bared to him.

His lips close around a nipple, his fingers close around the other, and he sucks the same time as he gently pulls, and Regina's back arches off of the sheets as she moans. He continues his attentions for several long moments, a touch of teeth and tongue as he twists and tugs, until his fiancée is breathlessly squirming underneath him, whispering pleas of ' _more'_ as her hips roll against him.

It takes her nudging his head downwards for him to actually listen to her, and he still can't help but tease her more, grasping the waistband of her silk underwear between his teeth and pulling it away from her body, wiggling his brows at her before he lets it snap back against her skin.

He grins at her growl, his fingertips tracing over the ribbon where the garment is tied at her hips, choosing to follow the crease of her thigh back until he can feel heat and the way the silk slides over where she is so obviously wet for him.

The lightest of touches has Regina letting out sighs and biting her lip, and at the first sweep of his tongue over the sodden fabric, her face turns into the pillow and she lets out a low moan.

"Robin," she breathes, frustration seeping into her voice.

"Be patient, my love," Robin responds, pressing a kiss to her covered clit before teasing; "I shall unwrap my present at my own pace."

"But could you perhaps speed up, even a little?" she grumbles, shifting her hips up towards his face. "You're driving me insane, here."

With a chuckle, Robin ever-so-slowly pulls at the bows at her hips until the surely-ruined scrap of silk falls away from her, revealing swollen and glistening flesh that Robin can't help but dive into. His tongue trails up to her clit and he groans at the taste of her, his hands holding her thighs to the bed when she squirms underneath him.

Her hands fist in his hair, tugging him closer as she tries her hardest not to shout out her lover's name and wake the entire street, but he brings one hand up to meet his mouth and sinks two fingers into her, and she can't quite stifle her loud; " _oh god!"_

Robin has every intention of bringing Regina to her high first, as he always does - he usually tells Regina it's due to chivalry, but in reality he simply loves watching her come; the way she moans his name as her breath hitches, the way her body quakes under his and her fingers scrabble at his back, it pushes him so much closer towards his own peak that it only takes a handful of thrusts before he's joining her over the precipice.

But he fears he won't even last long enough to watch her writhe for him. His cock is already hard - painfully so - and his hips have been grinding into the mattress with every pleasured sound falling from Regina's lips. So when she groans out his name again, gives him the simple order to just fuck her already, he simply cannot refuse.

Robin slides up her body, pressing the occasional kiss to wherever the urge hits before he captures her mouth with his, sinking into her and swallowing the loud groans that neither of them can hold back.

He starts to move the moment her heels dig into his thighs, deep and slow thrusts that grind against her clit every time she rolls her hips up to meet him.

It's not a minute later when Regina decides to steal back the show, pushing Robin to lie on his back as she sets up her own rhythm atop him, a quicker, shallower pace that has him rubbing against the spot inside of her that makes her thighs tremble and her head drop back as she breathes out a reverent; " _fuck!"_

Robin grits his teeth in the effort to hold back for Regina. The vision of her bouncing above him, the feeling of her tight warmth enveloping his cock, watching where he disappears inside her cunt... It's all too overwhelming, and despite his best efforts, he soon feels himself emptying inside her, pleasure flowing through him at the sensation of her continuing to move atop him.

He moves an uncoordinated hand to where they're joined, his thumb strumming over her clit as his other hand tangles in her messy hair to pull her into a tongue-filled kiss. He swallows her moans and cries as she comes, continuing to rub over her clit until she nudges his hand away and slumps against him.

Robin closes his eyes and wraps his arms around her, holding her to him as their bodies calm and cool. He runs his fingers through her hair, soothing out the tangles as she snuggles into him further.

"Hey, Robin?" Regina mumbles into his chest, tracing patterns over his heart.

Feeling a bit too relaxed to use his vocal chords, Robin _hmmm's,_ smiling when Regina presses a kiss to his skin.

"Merry Christmas."


	12. A Surprise Under the Christmas Tree

**So…**

 **Merry Christmas Everybody! I hope you have all had amazing presents and everything you wanted.**

 **Thank you so much for sticking with me throughout these twelve days, I've loved reading all your responses and your support has been a wonderful source of motivation over the Christmas holidays. So I owe you all a present; have a chocolate on me :D**

 **Cheers to y'all, and a Happy New Year!**

…

Christmas morning in the Mills' household is probably the only time that Regina will allow mess.

Torn wrapping paper is left in bags under the tree whilst the kids play with their gifts and the adults share a couple of kisses under the mistletoe Robin has refused to take down. Plates have been left in the kitchen to wash later, forgotten in favour of dancing around to Christmas Music and playing enthusiastic games of charades and the new board games given as presents.

Regina and Robin had filmed the kids opening their gifts, watching with smiles as each tear of wrapping paper brought new light into their boys' eyes and widened their smiles. Even Sarah had smiled as she reached out for her new stuffed toys.

But the _real_ present, the one Robin and Regina are anticipating the most, has had to be postponed until later.

Robin waits for the phonecall, sneaking out without the kids noticing once arrangements have been made. He texts Regina when he's back at the doorstep, and once they've placed the kids' surprise inside the box, wrapped the white ribbon around it, they head into the front room.

"Boys, come over here," Robin says, heading over towards the tree and placing the box underneath. "Your mum and I have one more present to give to you."

The kids are down by the tree in seconds, trying to steal glances behind Robin before he stands and moves to Regina's side.

She raises the video camera, ensuring both boys are in the frame before she gives them the nod to continue with an order; "be careful. It's very delicate."

Henry takes one look at the box, the circular, pink and white striped hat box and turns back to his mom with a frown. "Please tell us you didn't get one of those hats we made fun of the other day," he grimaces. "The frilly ones with glitter and ribbon."

"Well... It has a ribbon," Regina offers with a knowing smile, watching as Roland unties the bow at the top and lets the ribbon fall to the floor.

The box shifts and makes Roland jump back, Henry retracting his hands to his chest as he watches the lid slowly rise. When the pink top falls off, a small, black nose peeks over the edge, and when the boys lean forward to look inside they see golden brown fur, big eyes, floppy ears...

"Oh my god!"

The boy's faces light up, and they look to their parents in mild shock, before looking back to the box in front of them.

" _Lady_!" Roland cries out, scooping up the puppy and holding her to him in a gentle cuddle.

"What do you think?" Robin asks through his grin.

His son responds with a magnificent beaming smile, proclaiming; "I love her!"

"Best present ever!" Henry adds, leaning forward to stroke the squirming puppy. "Welcome to the family, little Lady."

...

As it turns out the boys were right; Lady is great with kids. She rivals Roland's energy as they play in the front room, bounds around Henry until the boy is dizzy from watching her, licks at Sarah's hand when it peeks out from the crib as the little princess sleeps...

Though Lady has also taken a shine to Regina; following her about the house, yowling when she leaves the room, and climbing up Regina's dress until she can curl up on her thighs and nap whenever her energy runs out.

It's where she is now; curled up in Regina's lap, enjoying the gentle strokes from her head and down her back, and the occasional scratch behind the ears. Henry's sat next to his mom, fast asleep, his head on his mother's shoulder as his hands possessively clutch at a tin of candy. And Roland is sat on his father's knee, snuggled in his embrace as they both sleep off the excess food and running around all day.

As a child, Regina hadn't found Christmas to be all that special. Yes, her father's estate would be decorated, and gifts would be received from all kinds of nobility, but it was all rather impersonal - much more of a political move to prove who was wealthier and had the most contacts than actually celebrating with family. And until she adopted her little prince, she had never really felt the excitement and magic of the holiday. But of course, her little prince has changed a lot of things, and now Christmas is one of her most favourite times of the year.

And slowly but surely, she has gained a family to spend it with; Henry, Snow, Charming, Emma, (after a fashion) the Pirate, Robin, Roland, Sarah, Lady...

Apart from her little princess, none of them are related to her by blood in any way; they have all adopted each other as time had passed. The notion that all these people would chose to call themselves her family was something Regina would never have expected a few years ago; she had been so determined to be self-sufficient, believing love was a weakness found in her opposition and only ever wanting her little prince in her life.

But now she's surrounded by people who mean the world to her, her resilient heart loving them so deeply it frequently astounds her, and at the time of year where celebrations are centred around family, Regina can't help but feel grateful that she is loved in return.

Because her mother was wrong; love isn't weakness, it's strength.

And she can carry the world on her shoulders, perform any herculean task, make the impossible possible...

Because she has a family by her side.

And their love is truly magical.


End file.
